


Before the World Was Big

by donniedont



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Beach, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Falling In Love, Family Issues, Mentors, Moving On, Multi, Other, Recovery, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-18 21:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11883036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donniedont/pseuds/donniedont
Summary: Taako's life has been at a standstill since his cooking career was unceremoniously ended.  Working at a diner with no romantic prospects, he can't help but feel resentful toward his siblings and the other people in his life who seem to be doing so much better than he is.  However, when a child seeks his expertise in the school of magic he was once known for, Taako finds himself on an emotional journey that may be what he was looking for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my fic. This fic is really me trying to challenge myself and experiment with prose. Thank you very, very much to my partner Gwyn for taking on the editing responsibilities for this and trying to make this way more coherent. 
> 
> The title of this fic is also the title of a song by Girlpool. It's not a perfect lyrics fit for the fic, but I think it really invokes a lot of the themes I'm hoping to address!
> 
> There will be a lot of trans interpretations of characters in this piece outside of Lup's canonical transness. I'm a transmasc person, however, I've made sure to have this piece edited by a dmab trans person for their input. Obviously, neither of us are monoliths of the trans experience and if you have any feedback concerning these interpretations, please let me know!
> 
> As of right now, there's no specific trigger warnings to warn for in the fic. However, this will be updated once more chapters are posted. As always, take breaks if you need to. Thank you very much for any time that you spend on this!

It was the first warm day in Neverwinter since winter began. The inside of the Davy Lamp Diner was heating up, causing its own, Ren, to be concerned.

“Why don’t you just turn on the air conditioning?” her employee grumbled as he blatantly sent a text while she struggled with a particularly finicky window.

“Because it’s April, Taako,” she replied, “And I know everyone texts on the job, but do you have to do it right in front of me?”

Taako sighed, slipping the phone into his pocket. He walked next to Ren and grabbed the other end of the window frame, muttering a countdown before he yanked the window open with her. She turned to him, nodding her head before she scanned the room and said, “Well, that’s as good as it’s going to get.”

Taako stepped away from the window, taking a deep breath. The Davy Lamp was a charming enough place. It was an old tin diner that had bright neon signs that most places along the coast were equipped with. Sure, the countertops were cracked and the leather in the seating was split, but at this point it added to the nostalgia factor. However, like most places near the beach, it lived and died by the amount of tourists they could get during the summer months. While the diner had its fair share of locals, it was always prone to long stretches of dead time. Between that and the very limited seating, it wasn’t any surprise that Taako found himself as the only person on wait staff during many of his shifts, outside of Ren.

“You’d think the nice weather would make people want to stop by,” Ren muttered as she went behind the counter. She began to shuffle around the candy and gum in the display case, wiping off any potential dust with the palm of her hand. 

“I think everyone would rather just go to the beach,” Taako replied. He sat in the booth closest to her, leaning back on the chair. If he didn’t work here as long as he had, he would be worried. He knew that come the weekend, the small space would become cramped with families all trying to consume as many silver dollar pancakes and omelettes as possible. Taako brought his hands to his face, inspecting his chipped teal nail polish before he began to pick at his cuticles. Ren waved her hand, about to admonish him when the bell against the door to the main entrance jingled.

Ren and Taako turned their heads at the sound of the door opening, as a little kid slowly shuffled into the diner, his arms piled high with several massive books. He looked up at them around the books, his round glasses sliding down his nose. “Good afternoon!” he chirped, “I apologize for not checking the sign… are you open at the moment?”

Ren tilted her head before she said, “Oh, yeah, sweetie. Uhm, do you have a… parent with you?”

The boy shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m afraid not. My grandfather is not quite in the condition to be out and about! I hope that’s all right?”

Ren pressed her lips together for a moment before she nodded and grabbed a menu. She led the boy to a smaller booth, placing the menu on the table before he clanked the books on top of it. “Your server will be with you in… right now,” she said, smiling before she returned to the counter. Taako sighed, sliding out of the booth and walking over toward the boy’s booth, jutting his hip out before he said, “Hey, uh, do you want something to drink?”

The boy hummed to himself, flipping through the menu carefully. While the lack of parental supervision was a little weird, the kid looked like he was pretty well put together. His clothes were new, his face was clean, and his glasses, though smudged, were in one piece. At least there was no immediate cause for concern.

“Could I just have a coffee?” the boy asked.

Taako outright snorted. “Yeah, okay, no. I’m not giving coffee to a child.”

The boy huffed. “I assure you that I’m aware of the potential repercussions of caffeine intake at my age.”

“I don’t care if you do,” Taako grumbled, “I’ll level with you. I’ll get you some tea.”

The boy took a deep breath. “Uh, many teas have the same caffeine content as a cup of coffee…”

“Let me pretend,” Taako said, already walking away from the booth to grab some hot water from the beverage station. When he made his way back he saw Ren staring at the back of the boy’s head, her face unreadable. 

Taako lifted his chin and tried to carry on like this was any other customer- with outward indifference. He went to the back, opening up the container of tea bags and filing through them, landing on one that was labelled as caffeine free. He ripped the bag open and placed it in the mug before bringing it back to the kid. The kid was already going through one of the very heavy tomes he brought in. Taako glanced at the title at the top of the page and hummed. “Transmutation? You trying to teach yourself magic out of a library textbook?”=

Angus looked up, smiling and nodding his head. “Oh, well! Yes! I wanted to learn magic, but I don’t know any magicians in this area to learn from. So I’m going to teach myself.”

Taako grit his teeth. “You’re not going to learn proper technique just _reading_ about it,” he noted, “Like… you’ll definitely screw up the pronunciation at the very least.”

Angus took the mug and played with the tea bag by wrapping the string around his finger. “Do you do magic, s… sir?”

“Sir. Sure. Weirdly formal, but sure,” Taako replied. “And yeah, but I can’t say I’ve been practicing much.” He quickly grabbed his order notepad and said, “Well, as much as I _love_ talking about myself, I need to get your order in.”

“Oh, could I have… a BLT and some chicken noodle soup?” the boy requested, grabbing the menu and passing it toward Taako.

“Uh, I mean, yeah,” Taako replied, grabbing the menu and shoving it under his arm. “Anything else?”

“No. Thank you, sir!” Angus chirped, and quickly resumed reading through his spell book. Taako turned on his heel, making his way toward Ren and shoving the menu inelegantly in the holder. Ren took to straightening it out, her eyebrows raised. 

Taako shook his head, his jewelry jangling in the process. Even _if_ there were plenty of risks for a kid to try to learn magic on his own, there was no way in any universe he was going to take on an apprentice. Even in the wizarding world, which was depending on apprenticeships and formal education, there was a clear definition between wizards worthy of taking on such a task and not. Taako was happy to consider himself someone who should not take on an apprentice, even if it was in transmutation, which was his specialty.

“Lup, maybe?” Ren asked, her voice just above a whisper.

Taako shrugged. His sister had happily cornered the youth market for pyromancy years ago. At first, it seemed like a horrible idea to teach literal children how to use fire, but she carefully screened every kid she took on and she emphasized how pyromancy could enhance one’s desire to do good as opposed to the opposite. It wasn’t transmutation, but the kid could at least take some magic classes within walking distance. Taako could only assume that he would pass whatever interview Lup set up for him. “I mean, worth a shot,” he replied. “Gotta put this order in, peace,” he said, walking into the kitchen to place the order before he headed back into the dining area, as if there would be more people stopping by. Instead, he found himself watching the boy, who was currently taking notes in a beaten up marble notebook.

In spite of the overwhelmingly nerdy demeanor of the kid, he didn’t seem bad. He wasn’t trying to throw his intelligence around like many kids did when they talked to Taako. He just seemed to genuinely want to learn magic and grow from that discovery. Taako wasn’t even sure he could consider anyone in his cohort at wizarding school with such pure intentions, even if it included people like Lup who he did consider a good person. 

Maybe he should tell Lup about him. She’d probably be thrilled to work with him. He walked over toward Angus’s table again, ready to tap his finger on the linoleum table, but he talked himself out of it. He was never one to get invested in kids and he certainly wasn’t going to start now. Even if they looked like they were pretty lonely. Hoping his hesitation would go unnoticed, he rushed past Angus’ table, stopping by the kitchen to grab his food and bring it back to him. 

“BLT and chicken noodle soup,” Taako said, placing the utensils down before carefully fitting the food around the notes and books. Angus looked up and gasped, “Thank you!” before bringing the sandwich to his mouth and taking small, careful bites.

Taako found himself spacing out until the bell at the front door rang. He looked up and saw a woman with a bicycle helmet under her arm and a man following behind her. Ren quickly sat them down, Taako walking over to get their drink orders. Angus lingered a little longer, finishing his food and a second cup of tea, and by the time he was closing out his check, the paltry dinner rush had started and four other tables had been filled. .

As Taako collected the tip from the table, he smirked when he realized that the kid tipped well. Even if he was weird, he was certainly one of the more pleasant children he served. By the end of the day, he realized that the kid was probably the most generous tipper of the day. He couldn’t tell if that was something that was more promising for the future, or just bleak for the present.

By the time his shift was over, the sky was dark and the air was cool. The beautiful day that Taako had spent cooped up in the diner had came and went, as he idly parted ways with Ren in the parking lot. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his old purple hoodie as he walked his way back home, listening to the ocean waves crash until he got several blocks toward the mainland.

There certainly was a novelty about living so close to the beach. Taako hadn’t actually ever been to a beach town before Neverwinter had become his home out of necessity,, but his aunt had romanticized the place when she took Lup and him in for that brief moment in time when they were younger. He recalled how she would let them sit on her lap as she tried to braid their hair, telling them a story about how a candy shop along the shore got flooded, their taffy stock potentially ruined. A brave assistant sampled the taffy, realizing that it was not only salvageable, but improved, because of the salt water that was worked into it.

“That’s why you need to make sure _every_ one of your dishes is salted!” their aunt would add, pressing her index finger against their noses for emphasis, “We don’t have salt air or salt water to help us out!” He and Lup would nod obediently. The story was preposterous, but it ran through their heads whenever they were seasoning a dish. 

In truth, he doubted that his aunt would have liked the beach much. She probably would dismiss everyone who spent their days on the beach as lazy. She would maybe like Ren and the Davy Lamp Diner, because Ren is probably one of the hardest working people Taako ever met. But he never would have ended up here if she was still alive, so he could never know for sure.

Taako walked down the streets, looking at all the houses. It was easy enough to spot which houses were for locals and which ones were just secondary homes. The secondary homes were always a little more gaudy and barely had cars in the driveways unless it was during the summer months. By the time Taako got three blocks away from the beach, more residential houses became apparent. They had less decorations, but showed signs of life with windows lit by the glow of living room TVs, or bedroom lamps.. Eventually, he made it to his own place, which was an apartment built on top of a small, but respectable house. He walked toward the entrance of the house, careful to evade the beautifully carved family of ducks that were placed by the entrance. He rang the doorbell, greeted by the sound of a dog barking inside and two voices trying their best to hush it.

The door finally opened and a large man stood in the doorway, one hand on the doorknob and the other with his hand wrapped around the collar of a dog with deep red fur. 

Taako glared at the dog before looking up at the man and saying, “Hey, Magnus.”

Magnus shifted the dog further away from Taako before he tilted his head. “Oh, hey, bud!” he exclaimed, “You need dinner or something?”

“We have leftovers!” Magnus’s wife, Julia added. Her dark hand gripped the frame of the door to swing it wider. She reached over and yanked him in a tight hug. Taako winced, well-aware that she smelled like fried food and sweat. She didn’t seem to care, only letting go to bring him to the kitchen table as Magnus warned that he was about to release the dog.

Taako took a seat, groaning as he heard the dog skitter across the linoleum. He reached out and pressed his hand against Steven’s chest, trying to keep all his paws on the ground. “Steven… _Steven_!” Taako demanded, “Didn’t you bring him to a training school?”

“Can’t train his rampant love for his grunkle out of him,” Magnus replied, noticing Julia make her way toward the fridge. “You need any help, babe?”

Julia waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it! It’ll be super quick.”

Taako waved his hand. “Seriously, you don’t have to…” he started.

“I don’t want it to go to waste!” Julia exclaimed. She shoved a plate into the microwave and took a seat next to Taako, Magnus taking it as a cue to sit down across the table. Steven decided to lean himself against Julia, Julia indulging him and petting his massive head. 

“So what’s up?” Magnus asked.

Taako gasped. “What? I can’t just show up at my landlord’s place at ass o’clock at night?!”

“Calling me your landlord is literally never funny,” Magnus replied.

“Is this you telling us that you can’t pay rent this month?” Julia asked, her brown eyes squinting at him.

Taako raised his hands defensively. “What? No! I mean, yes. I’m good. I’m golden. Don’t worry about me with that.”

“So what’s up?” Magnus asked. 

Taako sighed, bringing his elbow onto the table to prop his head up. It was always a bad move to look directly at Magnus. Even with the rough exterior covered in coarse body hair, worn hands, and a large scar across his eye, he was able to give a puppy dog look more convincing than Steven’s. Being raised in the same household with that face during their teenage years was an absolute nightmare. “Nothing, just… thinking about a customer.”

“Someone tried to pick a fight?” Julia asked, “I’m sure Ren put an end to it instantly.”

“Nah, not a fight,” Taako replied. He smirked when he saw how disappointed Julia looked. “It was just some kid. It’s stupid, don’t worry about it.”

The microwave went off, setting Magnus off to get up and grab the plate. He passed it to Taako, bringing a fork to him, as well. Taako began to pick at the food, reaching out toward the salt and pepper shakers in preparation. Thankfully, neither Julia or Magnus seemed offended by the gesture. 

“You know, if you want to talk about it, you can,” Julia said. She always had this horrendously soothing voice that could coax anyone to do anything. It was usually something Taako admired about her, if he wasn’t on the receiving end.

He took a tentative bite out of the broccoli and declared that it needed more salt, shaking some in his hand before he put it on the food itself. “It’s just… he was alone. Looking at transmutation books. He didn’t look like a runaway or anything, so like. I wasn’t going to call anyone, but it seemed. Sad. I dunno. I might tell Lup about him. He’s kinda young for her pyromancy sessions, but he seems to have a decent enough head on his shoulders.”

The other two fell silent for a long moment. Usually, the silence drove Taako mad. It was just a way to avoid inserting stilted messages of sympathy toward himself. And while Julia didn’t quite have the same backstory that Magnus and Taako had, she knew the two of them long enough to know that they were unintentionally vigilant with stuff like this.

Magnus looked particularly rattled, reaching over to Steven to pet circles around his floppy ear before he asked, “But, like. He _has_ someone, right? A parent or… something…”

“He mentioned a grandpa,” Taako replied, “Seriously, if I felt something was up, I would have done something about it.”

“Okay. Just… making sure,” Magnus replied.

“You should definitely talk to Lup about it, though!” Julia added, “She might even know the kid for whatever reason… it feels like she knows anyone with any magic aptitude around here sometimes.”

“I think I will,” Taako replied. He resumed eating, seasoning whenever he needed to. At least the meat tasted like it was cooked rare enough and while the potatoes didn’t heat very well, he could tell that they took his comments about using rosemary seriously. It wasn’t anything like what he was able to make, even if he was out of practice, but it was good enough. He finished it, saying, “Anyway, thanks for the meal. I’ll make sure to have the rent check for you guys by Friday. Sound good?”

Magnus gave one last concerned look before he leaned back and smiled. “Yeah! Sounds good. But, like, feel free to stop by beforehand.”

“Of course,” Taako replied, putting the plate in the sink before he hugged Julia and Magnus and begrudgedly rubbed Steven’s head. He took the back door to exit closest to the entrance of his apartment, walking up the creaky wooden steps toward it. He unlocked the door and was greeted to the stale smell of his place. He tossed his keys on the TV table, dragged himself through the study, and into the weird room that was only big enough for his bed and an end table. He flopped over, realizing that he had basically resigned himself to taking a shower in the morning. He fumbled for his phone, set an earlier alarm in preparation, and closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep as soon as he could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for the support so far! There's no content warning needed for this chapter! And one of the ships gets introduced! Thank you again to Gwyn for their careful editing skills.

Chapter 2

It took pressing the snooze button three times, but Taako got out of bed, showered, and was able to walk his way over toward the Davy Lamp Diner with more than enough time to spare. He felt his phone vibrate and he pulled it out of his pocket, checking the name and smirking before he opened the call and brought it to his ear. “Hey, Lulu,” he said.

“Oh, good, you actually picked up!” she exclaimed. It sounded like wind was blowing in the background. She was probably out at the beach for her morning jog. 

“What’s up?” Taako asked. Being her twin, he already knew that she only made phonecalls for two reasons: To make formal plans or to shit talk people. And sometimes both in the same breath. 

“You have a late shift tonight, yeah?” she asked, her tone implying this was probably just a make-plans-kind-of-call.

“I mean, I’m working through the dinner shift, so. Could be worse.” He stopped walking, casually toeing aside rocks that were spilled across the sidewalk back into their respective lawns. 

“Well, when you’re done I’m picking you up. We’re going to have a good ole fashioned sleepover at my place! Sound good?”

Taako smiled, even if she couldn’t see it. Maybe it was because she worked with kids or maybe it was because she just didn’t do very much of this when they were younger, but a lot of the Lup’s big ideas had a childlike quality to them. With most people, Taako would have dismissed the plans in an instant. But Lup’s plans somehow always ended up being really good for him, which was nice. It was almost like Lup knew her twin well. 

“Yeah,” Taako replied, “That sounds good.”

“Awesome!” Lup exclaimed, “Text me when your shift ends. Love you!”

“Love you, too,” Taako replied, hanging up and watching the screen shut off before he put it in his pocket and continued walking.

He walked into the restaurant, and picking up a rag, he silently began helping Ren get ready for the day. She didn’t say anything about the day before, specifically about the boy they served. Typically, Taako would be at a similar point of apathy. He was like that with most customers. By the time they were out the door, the most Taako could recall was how big the party was and whether or not they tipped him well. But for whatever reason, there was something about the kid that stuck with him, though he wasn’t entirely sure what.

Hopefully, he’d be able to remember by the end of his shift so he could tell Lup about it.

The day wasn’t as warm as the one before, but it was still fairly sparse. A team of lawyers stopped by for a late breakfast to discuss a case and a few elderly women came for a knitting circle in the early afternoon. Taako waited throughout the lunch rush, curious if the kid was going to stop by again. By the time three o’clock rolled around and a few students had popped in to have some fries and milkshakes, he turned to Ren and said, “Wait a fucking minute, that kid wasn’t in school.”

Ren stared at the kids at the table closest to them and back to him. “Uh, they have their backpacks.”

“Not the customers… the other kid we saw yesterday. Agnes?”

“ _Angus_ ,” Ren corrected. She frowned and said, “You’re right… he doesn’t look like the type to just miss school, either.” She placed her hand under her chin and sighed. “We’ll need to keep our eyes out for him, I guess. I’ll let you know if he stops in on your day off. Got any plans, by the way?”

“Hanging out with Lup,” he replied. He saw a teenage boy take one of the pepper shakers and began to sprinkle it into his cup of his milkshake. Taako cringed, deciding that he was going to try to put an end to it before they started trying to dare each other to drink the concoction. 

“Awesome,” Ren said, “Tell her I said hi! And that we should get lunch if I ever have a day off anytime soon.”

Taako said, “Will do,” as he made his way to the tables, bumping his hip against the table of teenagers. They looked up at him with wide eyes and he sniped, “You shoulda ordered the milkshake with pepper if you like it so much.”

The teenager’s looks became sour, one of the boys pushing the cup toward the center of the table and sighing. Taako walked past them, grinning to himself.

*

The dinner rush was equally uneventful. When Taako said his goodbyes to Ren and walked outside, he saw Lup’s car parked against the curb and through its closed windows he could see Lup dramatically singing along to the muffled pop music that she was blasting. He tapped on the window and Lup looked up, flashing him giant grin and mouthing his name. She reached over to fling open the passenger door and wasting no time, she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into a big hug. She pulled away, grinning at him before she lowered the music and asked, “How was work?”

“Usual. Scared the shit out of some teenagers,” he replied.

She smirked. “Probably deserved it,” she said. She pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed toward his place. “Figured you need to pick stuff up. Have you heard this remix yet? What’re your thoughts?”

Taako paused, listening to a few bars of music. “It sucks the danceability out of the original. Like, how the fuck do you do that?”

She gasped, slamming her hands on the wheel. “I know, right?” she asked, “It’s total garbage.”

They prattled on for the rest of the song until Lup pulled up to his house. Magnus and Julia’s lights didn’t seem like they were on, though Steven’s head was clearly present between the drapes of the picture window toward the front. Taako tried his best to sneak past him, Lup following behind.

“I can grab my stuff on my own!” Taako exclaimed.

“I just want to snatch some of mint from your herb garden, relax,” she replied. Sure enough, she stopped at the landing toward the door of his apartment, inspecting everything and deciding to take a few sprigs of mint and shoving them in the pocket of her collared shirt. She followed him inside, kicking her shoes off before she grabbed a stool and stood in the middle of the apartment, her neck craned out in his direction.

Taako bolted to the bathroom, grabbing his toiletries. He got a change of clothes and a backpack and returned to the main room, shoving everything into the backpack as Lup’s eyes scanned the room. He was sure there were comments that she wanted to make about the pile of dishes in the sink and the equally high pile on the counter next to it or the books stacked against the already full bookshelf. But she didn’t, only reaching out to grab a framed photo that was covered by junk mail on the counter. 

Taako checked the photo and confirmed where it was from. It was dated back to the year that Magnus was adopted. Their adoptive father, Merle, decided that they all deserved a vacation, something they couldn’t always do with him being functionally a single parent. Merle suggested a camping trip, which Magnus loved, Lup rolled with, and Taako despised, as perfectly depicted in the photo. Magnus grinned at the camera, making a peace sign that was mostly obstructed by the huge sleeves of his hoodie. Lup was laughing, probably at whatever Merle was doing off camera in an attempt to photograph the three significantly taller children. Taako stuck his tongue out, his hand a blur as he was attempting to flip off the camera.

Lup brushed the dust off, smiling. “That was such a fun trip,” she murmured.

“If you like mosquitos,” Taako grumbled, tossing the backpack over his shoulder.

“You got to go fishing every day. You had your time to shine,” she pointed out.

He sighed. “Fair,” he replied. He cocked his hip and asked, “Uh, are you ready to go?”

“ _Hell_ yeah,” she replied, “Let’s do this.” Lup pushed herself off the stool to leave. She swung the door open, rushing down the stairs as Taako followed behind to lock everything up. She ran to the window, asking herself if Magnus and Julia were home yet, but was instead greeted by Steven barking at her. “Oh well,” she said when Taako caught up to her, “It’ll just be twin time.”

They went back to Lup’s car, the radio kicking back on as soon as she started the car. Taako didn’t say anything, choosing to watch the houses pass them as they drove to the townhouse that Lup lived in. The area was far too symmetrical for Taako personally, but he could see the appeal of the location. It was a short bike ride away from a beach that was never plagued by tourists, as it wasn’t connected to the boardwalk. It was also far more spacious than any of the living arrangements the two of them had prior to their adoption and certainly larger than Merle’s bungalow. 

They parked and Lup lead him to her individual townhouse, its only distinction from the others being the carved family of ducks in front of it that was very similar to the ones in front of Magnus’s. She unlocked the door and hissed, “Hey!” at the figure sitting at the kitchen table a few yards away. Lup closed the space between them, falling into the person’s lap and cooing, “Aw, you stayed up for me, Barry?” before kissing him.

Barry broke the kiss and said, “Of course I did. I wanted to see Taako, too,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist to secure her. The image was comical- a long, graceful elf sitting in the lap of a squat guy who had a persistently oily forehead, but Taako knew Barry well enough by now that while he wasn’t the most attractive guy Lup could have gotten with, he undeniably loved her. That and he was somehow able to strike this magical balance between worshipping the ground she walked on while simultaneously holding her accountable and helping her grow as a person.

And almost as testament, here they were, still greeting each other like this even after dating for five years. It was aspirational, much like Magnus and Julia’s relationship -- but it also made Taako feel like he was definitely going to die alone. 

“Lucretia’s asleep,” Barry said, his head against Lup’s chest.

“Party pooper,” Lup muttered, “I’ll give her hell about it tomorrow morning.”

“Hey, you said this is supposed to be twin time,” Taako pointed out, “Not Taako and your triad.”

To add insult to injury, Lup had _two_ successful romantic relationships at the moment.

Lup snickered, getting off of Barry’s lap. “Nah, you’re right,” she said, “C’mon, let’s get the fort set up.” She went into the living room, Taako following behind. Sure enough, the room was already arranged with the pull out sofa set up, pillows and sheets piled up in the corners. 

“Is that enough?” Barry called from the other room.

“Yeah, it’s perfect, honey,” Lup replied.

When Taako wasn’t feeling bitter and single, he could concede that Lup deserved two successful relationships. She moved into the area with a similar amount of baggage to him and yet she never lost her warmth or her faith in other people. It was simultaneously admirable and baffling.

Lup tossed the pillows across the bed while Taako set up the lamps to form pillars before he tossed blankets across them. 

“You got any fairy lights?” Taako asked.

Lup snapped her finger, pointing at the corners of the fort, leaving a trail of small glittering lights in her path.

“Cute,” Taako complemented, turning on the TV and turning off the lights before he slid into the fort. He grabbed the closest remote to comb through the different streaming services that were available at the house.

Lup joined him, sitting cross legged in the fort. Barry entered the room with a bag of gummy creatures. “What’re you going to watch?” he asked, kneeling in front of Lup.

“Oh!” Lup exclaimed, waving her hands, “ _Stop everything_ , Taako. They have old episodes of Faerun’s Next Top Model on Fantasy Amazon Prime!”

“Shut up!” Taako yelled, pressing his fingers on the controllers as hard as he could. 

Barry smiled, leaning in to kiss Lup’s cheek. “Have fun, you two,” he said, getting up and waving as he left the room.

Lup took the controller, filing through the different seasons. “Which one do you wanna watch?” she asked.

“Which season was the one with the girl from Phandolin that was all, ‘I just want to let you know that some people’s towns burn to the ground.’”

“Season six!” Lup squealed, clicking it and closing in the space between the two of them.

Taako tilted his face toward her, watching the light reflecting from the screen against her. Without thinking, he asked, “How are your kids doing?” 

Lup jerked her head toward him. “My _students_?” she asked before she faced the TV again, “You never ask me about them.” Taako nearly held his breath as she added, “They’re good. Great, actually. Why?”

Taako thought about Angus flipping through the thick tomes with curious eyes. “Uh, I’ll talk to you about it later,” he said, yawning for emphasis, “I’m kinda tired.”

Lup nodded her head, pulling a blanket over him. She nuzzled the side of his head, pressing play on the episode before she laid down next to Taako.

Taako found himself falling asleep before the end of the first challenge, his arms wrapped around two pillows.

*

Taako woke up to Lup’s cell phone alarm. He opened his eyes and was immediately disoriented by the strange canopy of clashing blanket patterns and fizzling magic fairy lights that hung overhead. When he turned on his side again, he saw his sister pushing herself out of the fort. She adjusted her gym shorts, causing Taako to look down and realize that he was still in his work uniform.

“Get into something cozy and let’s make breakfast,” Lup said as she was leaving the room. She stopped in the doorway and added, “Oh, and text Magnus. He should have enough time to stop by before he opens up his shop.” She bolted into the kitchen before she yelled, “And! I’ll invite Merle, because I know _you_ won’t.”

“You’re right,” Taako replied, quietly. He fished around the piles of pillows for his phone and checked it, realizing that Magnus had texted him, “You ever come home last night?” Taako laid down again to type, “For a sec. Lup and I are making breakfast at her place. Come over.” Magnus quickly replied with a thumbs up emoji and Taako tossed his phone away. He grabbed his backpack and found his pajamas, getting dressed before he walked into the kitchen. Lup was walking around and collecting supplies.

“Merle’s probably still asleep,” Lup said, putting a pan on the stove.

“Well, Magnus is stopping by,” Taako replied.

Lup turned her head, her mouth open.

“I don’t know about Julia. _Jeezy Creezy_!” Taako mumbled, scanning the ingredients that Lup had spread out and determined that she wanted to make crepes. He took a deep breath before he began to prepare the batter. “Do you, like, have a crush on every person Magnus and I come in contact with? Just wondering.”

“Oh, shut up,” she muttered, bringing a cutting board to the counter and beginning to prepare a selection of berries. “I like seeing Julia, because _I like her_ and I want people to know that I like her.” She chopped through several strawberries before she added, “I’m making the whipped cream, sound good?”

“Go for it,” Taako replied, mixing the dry ingredients to the batter. He grabbed a ladle and began carefully scooping the batter onto the frying pan. After making two crepes, he heard the doorbell ring. Lup rushed toward the front door to let Magnus in, nearly jumping into his arms. Luckily, he was prepared, catching her and nearly dragging her back into the kitchen. He dropped her off at the counter, finally letting go to reach over toward the fruit carefully cut on the cutting board.

Lup yelled, “Knock it off!” whacking him with her hand.

Magnus yelped, jumping away. “Your ring got me!” he whined.

Lup dramatically took a fighting stance, curling her fingers into claws. As she did it, the sunlight caught on the jewel in the center of her engagement ring, causing it to glitter a bright red. Magnus replied with his own fighting stance, eventually giving up to ask, “Oh! Any update on wedding plans?”

“Yeah, Lup,” Taako replied, still making crepes, “Are you and Barry ever _actually_ going to get married? Or was Magnus the only Highchurch kid getting hitched unless Mookie and Mavis do?”

Lup snorted as Barry shuffled into the room, tightening his ratty blue robe around him. He wrapped the belt around his waist before he said, “Ah, leave her alone. You’ll be the first to know when we have a date picked, all right?”

“Barry!” Magnus exclaimed, yanking him by the collar of his robe to pull him into a huge hug. “I just like weddings, take your time,” he explained, finally letting go of him. Barry shakily reached for his glasses, carefully adjusting them back at the bridge of his nose. 

“I just wanna be in a wedding party. You’re my only shot, Lup,” Taako replied. Lup rolled her eyes as she got the whipped cream together and began to furiously beat it. “I mean it!” he exclaimed, “I don’t care if Lucretia is your girlfriend, I get maid of honor.” He began assembling the crepes with fruit, surprised when a dollop of whipped cream appeared on them. He noticed Lup’s hand glowed with magic and he rolled his eyes.

“Take it,” Lucretia muttered as she dragged herself to the table. She rubbed her eyes as Magnus reached over and gave her another tight hug. “Is there any coffee?” she asked, gently hugging Magnus back.

“No, let me get it started,” Barry said, getting up to prepare it. He finally looked at the handiwork the twins were making and he asked, “You’re making crepes for us?”

“Hell yeah!” Lup exclaimed, “Got fresh strawberries for Lucy, blackberries for you, blueberries for… everyone. Who doesn’t like blueberries? They should be ready in two seconds.”

Taako smiled in spite of himself, nearly tearing a crepe in half. If he didn’t spend time with the three of them, he would not believe that their relationship was possible. He had had relationships that were casual dates compounding over each other before, and he had also been in situations where he or the other person were cheating on each other. But to be in a completely transparent, honest relationship, and then to have that same arrangement with another person? To Taako, that seemed impossible.

Whenever he remotely questioned it, Lup just shrugged and said that as long as there is constant communication, it’s possible. Just the thought of having to constantly communicate with people made Taako’s skin itch. 

Lup and Taako completed the crepes, plating them. Lup turned away as Taako took a plate, trying to get all the components of the dish on his fork before he popped a bite in his mouth. He swallowed hard, nearly holding his breath until he realized that it was fine, tasty even. When Lup turned around again, he nodded his head, helping her set the plates out along the table. When everyone had their plates, they sat at the table.

“No word from Merle, I guess,” Lup said, checking her phone for emphasis.

“It’s his day off from his florist job,” Magnus said, “He’s not getting up for anything, even if it’s these baller crepes.”

Everyone nodded, resuming eating again. As everyone got to the end of their meals, Taako realized that he still didn’t ask Lup about the big question that was weighing his mind so much the past few days. “Oh, so, I have a question for you, Lup,” he said.

“Right, you mentioned that,” she said, not pausing her eating, but still facing him. “What’s up?”

“I had a kid come to the diner, like. Tiny kid. With huge books on transmutation. I know it’s not your specialty, but I figured he might want to take some of your classes.”

“Did you get his name?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah. He introduced himself and everything. Angus McDonald, I think?”

Lup, Barry, and Lucretia began to laugh. Magnus and Taako turned to each other and back at them before Taako asked, “ _What_?”

“Do either of you read the local papers?” Lup asked. “I mean, Barry reads it to me. The kid’s this precocious thing. He helped the police crack a huge cold case a year or two back and now he does freelance stuff, because he’s apparently that good. He wants to learn magic? Shit, he can cut the wait list. I’d love to teach him. But I think if he wants to learn transmutation, then he should consider an apprenticeship with someone I know who’s an expert at that type of magic.”

Magnus dramatically rolled his eyes toward Taako as Taako squirmed in his seat. “Nice try, Lulu,” he replied, “But my magic days are behind me. And even if I tried to get back in the game, I doubt I could teach a baby how.”

Lup pursed her lips for a long moment before she took a forkful of her crepes and popped them in her mouth. “I mean, I get that you might be a little rusty, but I know you. You don’t just forget things, especially when it comes to spells as difficult as the ones you were able to master. Taking on an apprentice would be a great way to get back into the swing of all of it, you know?” She took another bite of her crepes before she added, “Besides, as good of a teacher as I’ve become, my specialty is pyromancy. If his heart isn’t in pyromancy, there’s no point in giving him classes in it. You know?”

“You’re right,” he said, sighing dramatically. He pushed the whipped cream on his plate and coated a strawberry with it. “Just, I’ll think about it. If you see the kid, at least recommend your classes.”

“All right,” Lup said, “I can do that much. Like I said, I’d love to be able to teach him. Just don’t count yourself out, all right?” 

Magnus continued staring at Taako for a long moment before he checked his phone and said, “Well, I gotta get going. Thanks so much for inviting me!” He put his plate in the sink and leaned over toward everyone, giving them hugs and kisses on the cheek. “Julia and I can do dinner sometime soon? She’d love to see everyone!”

“Please! Tell her I send her love!” Lup exclaimed.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Taako mumbled. Magnus laughed like it was the funniest thing he ever heard before he left, saying goodbye in his wake.

Everyone else continued to eat their breakfast, Barry and Lucretia cleaning off the table and washing the the plates without even having to ask. Lup and Taako eventually returned to the fort, the two of them drinking coffee as they sat in it a little while longer.

Lup muttered about having to go to work, but she didn’t make any effort to move. She kept drinking her coffee, her golden eyes focused on Taako. Taako quickly looked away, taking a deep breath.

“What?” Taako asked, “Something is clearly on your mind.”

She sighed, taking another sip of her coffee. “I’m just thinking about this Angus kid,” she admitted, “I mean, I get why you don’t want to take on an apprentice. But magic used to make you so happy, you know? It’d be nice to see you trying to get back to that type of happy again.”

Taako laughed, nearly choking on his drink. “I mean, I was happy… but then I royally fucked up a bunch of people’s lives.”

She waved her hand. “That sob story isn’t interesting when your shitty ex owned up to being the one who did it. And is, thankfully need I add, in prison.”

“That wasn’t exactly the part of the headlines,” Taako mumbled.

“I’m just saying that I get that you needed time and space to mourn and to think about this shit. But I would be a shitty sister if I didn’t try to yank your head out of your ass and tell you to fucking move forward.” She fluffed at the tight curls of her hair before she sighed. “So yes, this is me trying to tell you to get your head out of your ass and do something different. Even if it’s something like taking on a kid as an apprentice. All right?”

“Well, what do I get out of it? Because right now the whole taking care of kids and all that isn’t exactly doing much for me.” He swirled the coffee in his mug and looked at the side of it. It was some ungodly printed creation from when Lucretia, Barry, and Lup went on vacation to a different beach town. He didn’t even see them as the type to do that, but apparently they were. “And this?” he asked, “This is gross.”

She snorted. “We had a coupon. And shut up, it’s cute.” She shifted around and added, “And answering your other statement… name your price.”

Taako hummed. “A Fantasy Kitchenaid Standing Mixer,” he said dreamily. She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious!” Taako exclaimed, “I had to sell my other one. I know I don’t really cook or bake or anything anymore, but maybe if I actually had one it’d make me want to. So that’s what I want.”

She sighed loudly. “So you’ll take on an apprentice for a Fantasy Kitchenaid Standing Mixer,” she mumbled. She nodded her head from side to side and said, “Fine. Let’s do it.” She reached over and offered her hand. “Find this Angus kid, make him your apprentice, and I’ll buy you that.”

Taako quickly reached over, nearly slapping her hand in the process. “Hell yeah,” he said, “Bring it on. Now I just gotta make sure I can find this kid somewhere.”

“I’ll keep my eye open, too,” she said, “He’s, like, ten years old and dresses like he’s sixty-five. He can’t be too hard to spot.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay- back to school time for myself and my editor! Thank you again to Gwyn for cleaning this up and thank you to everyone leaving kudos and comments!!
> 
> This chapter isn't terribly heavy in terms of content, but there are mentions of issues relating to mental illness such as hoarding, and dissociation, conflict between parents and children (in this case, adopted children), and a character with age-related memory problems.

Life went on, because it had to. Most of Taako’s days were occupied with long hours at the diner, and work-day obligations that he’d put off often ended up taking over the days when he was free. After a week he already gave up on seeing Angus. Well, it wasn’t that he entirely gave up - he did have an ongoing bet that was riding on his possession of a Fantasy Kitchenaid Standing Mixer. So of course, he had tried checking the local newspaper for any mention of Angus’ supposedly amazing detective antics, and he had even gone so far as to take shifts that lined up with the first time he saw him. But the distinct lack of his presence was fast-tracking Angus into becoming just another forgotten diner customer. 

By the second weekend, the matter of Angus and the standing mixer bet had been entirely pushed to the back of his mind. The weekend shifts were usually the most hectic time of the week, and today was no exception. Thankfully, it seemed like many of the people stopping by were their usual customers, who at least greeted Ren and him kindly before they were seated. Their presence eased Taako into his typical service routine as he wrote their usual orders with a flourish, winking at the husbands and complementing the children on their paper placemat drawing skills. 

As complicated as his relationship with cooking and food had gotten over the years, he couldn’t deny that he loved the hosting aspect of working in the food industry. He liked the attention and the feeling of being needed by whoever he was serving. But mostly, he liked how the diner setting brought people together. It reminded him of the times when he used to cook for fun, before he’d tried to make it his career. His aunt had taught both him and Lup the basics and he had quickly found that not only did he have an aptitude for it, but that he sincerely found it enjoyable. Growing up, he and Lup often engaged in cooking competitions, each trying to outdo themselves at every meal, much to the appreciation of Magnus and Merle. But life got in the way and now the most he could do was casually dream up creative improvements to already finished plates as he brought them out to his customers.

Toward the later part of the rush, Ren walked past him, hip checking him in the process. He turned to yell at her, but stopped when he saw Angus walking to be seated. He was holding an older man’s hand and a woman trailed behind the two. He swallowed down whatever he was ready to yell, watching the three of them get seated. Ren walked past him again, raising her eyebrows before she returned to the hostess stand.

He checked on the tables that he was immediately near him and made his way over toward them, taking on his usual crooked stance by the table before he greeted everyone.

He was barely through his intro when Angus exclaimed, “Oh! Hi, Mr. Taako! He turned toward the older man and said, “This was the wizard I was telling you about… from when I took those books out a few weeks ago!” Angus grinned and said, “Mr. Taako, this is my grandfather! He’s having a good day and we wanted to celebrate!”

The woman next to his grandfather seemed uncomfortable, leaning over to whisper something in Angus’s ear. Taako lifted his chin, doing his best to mask his eavesdropping intentions. He got their drink orders, leaving them to select what they wanted from the menu. He wanted to talk about this potential apprenticeship, but he wasn’t particularly sure if he was going to pull off that conversation with the grandfather there. Taako tried to subtly check out the table again. The woman didn’t seem related to Angus. Certainly not in the way that she interacted with him. Maybe she is some sort of live-in nurse for his grandfather? The grandfather seemed a bit off, like he was spaced out most of the time, so maybe dementia? He was just going to have to find a way to catch Angus or hope that the grandfather would have to leave at some point.

Taako continued his shift, occasionally looping back to Angus’ table. He tried to wrap his head around how _happy_ Angus looked, even if the scene looked so outwardly bleak. The grandfather that he had mentioned in their first encounter looked more like he was being taken care of by Angus than the other way around. Regardless, Angus seemed content to take sips of orange juice between exchanges with the nurse and occasionally his grandfather when he seemed lucid enough. Taako came over to ask if they wanted the check and mid-sentence, Angus’s grandfather mumbled something. He and the nurse began to get up, Angus shuffling along to let them out of the booth. Taako leaned against the table, raising his eyebrows as they passed by him. “Want a refill on your orange juice, little man?” he asked.

Angus looked down at his cup and back up at Taako. “Oh!” he replied, “No, I must leave soon… thank you, though.”

“No problem,” Taako said, “It’s part of my job to ask.” He shoved his hands in the pocket of his apron and fumbled with the plastic straws inside before he asked, “How’s the magic going?”

Angus pressed his lips and finally began to frown. “Oh, well. I-it’s going! I can do a cantrip here or there, but I can’t say I’ve been doing great at any complex spells. I guess it really is one of those things you can’t just read about.”

“Aw, don’t beat yourself up, Agnes,” Taako replied. He smirked as Angus looked up at him in confusion. “You got options. For example, I got my sister runs that pyromancy school by the Fantasy Shop Rite. You familiar with it?”

Angus gasped. “Your sister is Lup Taaco?” he asked, “I’ve never met her! But I know some kids who take her classes! She seems so cool…” Angus’s face resumed frowning again when he added, “I mean, I would be grateful for any lessons, but I don’t think pyromancy is really for me…”

Taako sighed. Well, so much for the easy way out. “Listen, kid. If your heart is really set on transmutation, I can potentially take you on as an apprentice.” The boy’s eyes lit up instantly. Taako waved his hand and added, ‘With a zillion caveats! I haven’t done magic in awhile. I can’t guarantee that my execution will be that great anymore. But I still know the mechanics and I can call out bad technique. So, ah, are you in?”

Angus nearly lept across the table, his arms wrapping around Taako’s waist. He looked up and asked, “You mean it?”

Taako tried to pry Angus’s arms off of him before Angus realized he should let go. “Yeah. Just don’t make me regret it. I’m going to need some sort of contract signed. Do you think your grandpa is able to do something like that?”

Angus nodded. “He’s my guardian!” Angus replied, “So it’d have to be him!”

Taako ignored how his stomach dropped. “Ah,” he said, “Well, I’ll give you my contact information. Email you a contract. Meet me here next Saturday. My shift ends at three o’clock.” He put his hands on his hips. “And you’re totally certain that you want this?” he asked.

Angus nodded. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he said, “Thank you, sir.”

Taako took a deep breath before scribbling his email address and phone number on a napkin at the end of the table. “Just email me, so I have your address. I gotta get back to work. See you around, pumpkin.”

“Bye, sir!” Angus exclaimed, absolutely beaming. Taako walked away, making eye contact with Ren in the process. 

Ren huffed. “Can you get back to the rest of your tables, please?” she asked.

“I can. Sorry about that.”

Ren sighed. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Yeah. Same here,” Taako said, getting back to the rest of his shift. He made sure that the only times he came in contact with Angus’s table the rest of the time was to drop off the check and collect his tip. When he finished his shift, he dragged his heels back home, nearly scrambling up the stairs into his apartment. He fumbled through setting up the shower, cleaning himself up before he kneeled down in the tub, hugging his legs and letting himself slowly recharge. Working long weekend shifts were always a nightmare, but even the scant interactions he had with Angus seemed to drain him, even if it was in anticipation of the workload he was about to sign up for. Thankfully, the shower worked well enough and he was focused again, his thoughts no longer constantly returning to what he just witnessed at work. He hoisted himself out of the tub when he was done, getting on a new change of clothes and grabbing his phone before he took a header into the bed, laying down and finding Lup’s number in his frequently called list. He brought the phone to his ear, waiting patiently for her to pick up, only to realize that Saturday was a big day for her school. He hung up before he could leave a message, rolling on his back to shove his phone in his pants pocket and stayed there for awhile, his eyes focused on flecks on the ceiling. 

He looked around the small room, suddenly missing the bedroom situation he had when he lived at Merle’s. He used to hate that he had to share a bedroom with Lup and was always jealous that Magnus got to have his own. But at this point, he found himself constantly yearning to be able to occupy a space with someone again. Even if Magnus was the floor below, he was carrying out his life with Julia. They didn’t need him to ensure that the day would continue, even if they liked having him around.

Both Lup and Magnus would aggressively assure him otherwise, but it was frustrating knowing that they were in very happy relationships and he was stagnant. It’s not that he didn’t understand why it happened. He just didn’t like knowing that if there was ranking for the Highchurch children in terms of success, he probably ranked in last place, even counting Hekuba’s kids, who were still actual children.

He rubbed at his face. If he was going to be the family failure, then he may as well make the most of the stereotype and entitle himself to using up his family’s time as much as possible. He sprang out of the bed, checking his outfit before he scurried down the stairs, knocking on the sliding door to Magnus and Julia’s house. Like clockwork, Steven charged toward the window, smashing his face against the glass to bark at him.

Julia yelled at him, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him away before she slid the door enough that she could stick her head out. “Your dad’s here,” she warned.

Taako sighed. “Only legally,” he quipped. And after a pause he added, “I’ll deal with him. I got an announcement.”

Julia nodded, opening up the door wide enough for him to fit. She yanked Steven away, only letting him go when Taako slid the door behind him. He braced himself as Steven investigated him, rubbing his giant head before he followed Julia into the family room. Sure enough, Magnus was sitting on the couch with Merle sitting in the cushy recliner, his short legs swinging back and forth. They both turned toward him, Magnus raising his hands and yelling, “Hey, Taako! How was work?”

“What do you think?’ he asked, sitting next to Magnus. He leaned against the arm of the chair and faced Merle before he added, “How’re you doing?”

“Eh, same old, same old,” Merle replied, “How have you been? Going to work consistently and eating and all that?”

Taako rolled his eyes. “Yeah,” he replied, “I mean, don’t you do flower stuff for Ren sometimes? She’d tell you if I wasn’t doing work stuff and I'm sure Magnus would squeal about anything else.” He turned toward Magnus and raised his hand. “No offense,” he said.

“I mean, it’s true,” Magnus replied.

Merle laughed. “Fair enough.” He leaned in and winked. “You still smell a little like fries.”

“I better not I just showered!” he exclaimed, waving his hand helplessly at him. 

“Merle was just wondering if you can take the Saturday of Summer Festival off,” Magnus explained, “We were kicking around the idea of spending the day on the beach. Kinda like how we used to when we were kids.” 

Taako brought his feet up under his chin and curled up, humming to himself. It initially seemed a bit early to make plans for Summer Festival, but it really wasn’t. It was the official beginning of summer for the region and the unofficial beginning of rental season for anyone who wanted to visit the area. If anyone who was local wanted to stay in the area for the festivities, they had to come up with some kind of reservation as soon as possible.

“What beach are you thinking?” Taako asked.

“I was gonna ask Lup if she could reserve some space at the beach by her place,” Merle replied.

“There’s some kind of dock area, right?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah,” Taako said, “That should work.” Taako rubbed his eye and added, “I mean, I can see if I can take the day off. It’s a really nice day for tips, but if Magnus and Lup want to make this a thing, I can try my best.”

“Awesome!” Merle exclaimed, “I’m so glad! It’ll be a lot of fun. I promise.”

Taako shrugged, wiping his finger against his pants before he brought it to his lip. He began to pull at the skin on it until Magnus bonked him on the shoulder. 

Magnus got up, saying, “I’m gonna get some water. Anyone else want some?”

Taako shrugged as Merle nodded his head. Magnus walked past them, squeezing Julia’s shoulder as she stood toward the back of the room. Taako turned toward Merle again, keeping his fingers near his mouth. It wasn’t that Merle was an entirely unbearable person to be near. Even with their issues, Taako couldn’t deny that Merle was willing to take in three kids with unique batches of trauma and mental illness and were able to get them into adulthood with minimal excess damage. But where Lup and Magnus were able to make compromises for any of his failures along the way, Taako never forgot, holding tightly to the laundry list of issues and continually bringing them up whenever he could.

“Say,” Merle said, “You give any thought to getting a new job? I’m sure Lup would love you to teach transmutation at her school.”

Julia’s face screwed up into some uncomfortable look as Magnus reentered with glasses of water on a tray. Magnus cringed as he brought the tray down on the coffee table in front of them. Taako reached over and took a sip from his glass. “I mean, it’s not paid, but I’m taking on an apprentice.”

Everyone else’s eyes widened in response. 

“Where did you even _find_ an apprentice?” Julia asked.

“At the diner,” Taako replied, “His name is Angus or whatever. He’s the tiny kid that came into the place with books about transmutation. Lup bartered with me for a Fantasy Kitchenaid Standing Mixer if I teach him and as long as I can do an okay job with that, she’ll get one for me.”

Everyone was quiet for a long moment.

“You can’t yell at me for this,” he pointed out, “In all honesty, I thought you’d all be way more excited.”

“I mean, I’m excited,” Magnus replied, “I guess I’m just surprised, yanno? I didn’t even know that was something you wanted to do.”

“What’s the apprentice like?” Julia asked.

“Yeah, let’s hear it!” Magnus replied, clamoring closer toward Taako.

“Oh, I don’t really know the kid much yet,” Taako replied, “I mean, he’s tiny. Wears glasses. He’s super book smart. But we’ll see how it goes in terms of him actually executing spells.”

“Just don’t hurt the kid in the process,” Julia warned, “Like, I’m all for a good bet and I think this could be good for you, but be mindful of making emotional connections.”

“Nah, Taako replied, flipping his hair, “You know me. I don’t do emotional connections.”

Julia rolled her eyes, sitting down on the arm of the couch. “I mean, _okay_ , you don’t. But it’s the kid I’m more worried about.”

“Yeah, kids are fragile with this stuff,” Merle noted.

“You should know,” Taako sniped. He didn’t even look to see Merle’s reaction as Magnus rubbed his face.

“I know,” Merle admitted, “That’s coming from experience.” He stroked his beard for a long moment and added, “Oh? Is the kid local? I wonder if Mookie or Mavis know him.”

“He’s pretty young,” Taako replied, “Maybe around Mookie’s age. I’ll ask when I see them.” The image of Angus sitting at the booth happily chatting with the nurse surfaced in his mind. “Actually, he should definitely hang out with Mookie. I don’t think he’s been able to hang out with people his own age much.” He took another sip and said, “I’ll talk to Hekuba next time I see her.”

Merle sunk further into the chair. Taako wanted to sling more insults, but he resisted. He didn’t see the point in not talking about Merle’s ex-wife. She never formally adopted Magnus, Lup, and Taako, but she did become a part of their lives, as did her daughter, Mavis, and eventually hers and Merle’s son, Mookie. There was no point in avoiding speaking about her, especially when she still lived in the same town.

“How is ole Hekuba doing?” Merle asked, tentatively lifting his head off the recliner. 

Taako raised his hand. “I’m not playing this game,” he replied, “And even then, I don’t fucking know. I only see her at the Davy Lamp, but I’m on the clock.”

“Oh! I talked to her a week ago!” Magnus exclaimed. Julia quickly turned her head, glaring at Magnus. Magnus didn’t seem to notice, instead waving his hands and saying, “She’s doing well! She’s dating!” Julia, who had been standing in the corner of the room, lunged over toward Magnus and slapped his shoulder, Taako yelping as he tried to avoid them.

“She’s dating?!” Merle asked, pushing himself to the edge of the chair. “Didja get any deets?”

Magnus rubbed his shoulder, glaring at Julia as she retreated back to where she was standing. “I don’t know! I was leaving the grocery store, she was going in, that whole thing. She said she was good and was seeing some guys. If I knew more, I’d tell you.”

Merle was quiet for an uncomfortably long moment before he smiled. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “Well, good! I’m glad to hear that she’s moving on!”

Taako rolled his eyes. Thankfully, Merle didn’t catch it. Taako finished his drink and placed the glass on the tray. He brought his hand to ruffle up his hair and he sighed. “Well, I need to clean up my apartment for Ango’s lesson next week. If anyone wants to help, lemme know. I’d appreciate it.”

“I can help,” Julia offered, “Merle? Magnus?”

Merle shrugged. “Ah, well, I actually should be heading back. Davenport and I had to postpone our card game to today, so I’m gonna get ready for that.” He smiled at Magnus fondly and added, “Thanks for the hospitality. It was nice seeing all of you. Karaoke’s still on for next Monday, right?”

“Of course!” Magnus replied, “We’ll pick you up usual time!”

Taako shrugged as as Merle’s grin widened. “See you all then!” he chirped. They all made their way toward the front door, Taako staying to the side as Merle hugged them all goodbye and made his way toward his shabby sedan. Magnus, Julia, and Taako stood in silence as Merle drove off, Julia and Magnus waving him off.

Magnus took a deep breath, his shoulders lowering slightly. 

“Sorry about that,” Taako said, “Julia warned me ahead of time that he was here and I just… went in without thinking.”

“Nah, the vibe was weird before you got there,” Magnus replied. “Turns out that Hekuba switched weekends with him, but he couldn’t get a shift at the florist in time to distract himself. With Lup and you at work, I became the distraction.”

Taako bit the inside of his lip, nearly drawing blood before he clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Apartment! I want this place to get clean!”

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Julia exclaimed, nearly running up the stairs to his apartment. Taako and Magnus trailed behind, Taako fumbling around for his key to unlock it. Julia saluted the room, smiling in spite of the mess that she was surrounded by. “So what’s your vision for this?” she asked.

“Uh, clean?” Taako asked, “And like. Relatively kid-friendly. He’s not a baby, but if there’s something a little… too much, just make sure it stays hidden.”

“Okay!” Julia replied, “We should make objectives for ourselves…” She tapped her chin and said, “Magnus! You don’t have a great sense of smell, so you can take care of the dishes.”

Magnus sighed. “Yeah, okay,” he replied, scuttling toward the kitchenette area. He opened up the dishwasher and groaned. “ _Taako_ , have you been just keeping clean stuff in here?”

Taako shrugged. “I didn’t feel like putting them away…” he started.

Magnus groaned, beginning to put them back into the cabinets.

Julia picked up a jacket that was balled up toward the door and unfurled it. She draped it over her arm and says, “It looks like you don’t have enough storage for any of your stuff. So let’s work on your clothes and try to go through them? We can donate whatever you don’t want.”

Taako faced the couch, which was currently covered in a pile of clothes. “Sure, if you say so,” he replied.

She nodded, walking toward the couch and clearing out space for the two of them. Taako sat next to her, unintentionally pressed up against her. She seemed unphased, clearing off the coffee table. “We’ll clean this up, too.”

“Do you just… like cleaning or something?” Taako asked.

“Kind of!” she replied. “I dunno, I find it comforting.”

“Not sure how, but cool,” Taako replied.

Julia hummed, pulling the jacket off her arm and showed it to him. “What do you think? Do you want to keep this?”

Taako took a deep breath. He had worn it a few days ago. That had to be reason enough to hang onto it. “Yeah,” he replied, “It’s a nice spring jacket.”

“Then it’s being kept!” Julia said, folding it and setting it to the corner of the coffee table. She continued going through the items, never losing momentum. 

Taako found himself envious. He would deny any accusations of being a hoarder, but he could admit that he easily developed attachment to personal items. He was forced into enough therapy sessions to understand _why_ he did this. He just didn’t particularly care to keep it in check.

“And this?” Julia asked, lifting a purple sundress up.

Taako pursed his lips, trying to remember where it came from. The memory came to him with ease as he said, “Oh! I wore that when I met Sazed!”

Julia scrunched her nose and tossed it into the donation pile. “Bye, then,” she grumbled.

“No!” he hissed, “It’s not the dress’s fault!”

“You wanted to clean up,” she pointed out, “That means purging this shit.”

Taako rubbed his temples and sighed. “If we purged everything connected back to Sazed, I’d lose literally anything that’s high end.”

“Maybe that isn’t a bad thing,” Julia suggested. Magnus shut off the faucet as if it wasn’t a totally obvious gesture. 

Taako sighed. “Throwing shit out won’t undo the past, babe,” he said.

“Well, no,” Julia replied, not even remotely ruffled. “But you want to open yourself up for moving forward as best as you can. If that makes sense.”

Taako sighed, staring at the heap of a dress that was currently falling off of the donation pile. He scrambled around in his mind to think of a retort, if only to be contrary, but his mind was fuzzy. This progress was beginning to get to him. “Just toss it,” he mumbled, picking it up and placing it back up on the pile for emphasis.

Julia grabbed another item of clothing as Magnus turned the faucet on again. Julia proceeded going through each item, clearing up the entirety of the couch in the process. Taako all but fell over in submission in response. By the end of it, he could only nod or shake his head in response to the items that Julia selected. Julia suggested that he put the clothes to be donated into a garbage bag while she put the other clothes away in their proper areas of his dresser and closet. Taako walked toward the sink, trying to evade Magnus to grab a garbage bag. Magnus rubbed Taako’s shoulder and asked, “You want me to help? I’m done here.”

Taako shrugged, Magnus still following behind him. Taako opened up the garbage bag and Magnus began tossing the clothes into it.

“I’m sorry Julia was so intense back there,” Magnus mumbled.

Taako shook his head. “Nah, she needed to be. I get it,” he mumbled.

“You got a week until the kid is coming, right?” Magnus asked. Taako nodded in response. “All right,” he replied, “It’ll be an undertaking, but with the three of us, we can definitely get it done. We can see if Lup, Lucretia, and Barry want to get in on it, too.”

“Thanks, Magnus,” Taako replied.

“It’s no problem! I’m just glad you’re cleaning up. And I know Lup will be excited.” He smiled and grabbed the bunch of the clothes in a sloppy pile before dropping them into the garbage bag. He took the bag from Taako and tied it up. “I’ll drop these into the donation bin I pass by when I go to work. Sound good?” He leaned the bag against the counter, stopping in front of it. He smiled as he draped himself across the counter to grab the framed photo of Taako, Lup, and him from when they went camping when they were younger. “You sentimental fuck!” he exclaimed.

Taako walked toward him, his hands on his hips. “It’s a good photo,” Taako replied.

“I need a copy of this,” Magnus determined, still holding the frame in his hands. He put it back, facing Taako. “You sure about taking on this kid?”

“Not at all,” Taako admitted, “But I wanna give it a shot. C’mon. I supported you with your punk rock band dream. Surely you can support me through this.”

Magnus snorted. “I mean, yeah. But this is a kid, Taako. I know you aren’t raising him, but… that’s a lot of pressure. I don’t even think I could handle stuff like that at this point. I’m too scared that I’m, like, too fucked up or something.”

Taako nearly barked laughing. “You’re worried about having kids? _Please_. You are, like. Total dad material. Both you and Lup would be kickass parents, if Lup actually wanted them.”

Magnus smiled. “Aw, thanks, buddy,” he replied. “But Jules and I have a long way aways before we start thinking about that.”

“I’m just saying,” Taako said, “I’m not writing a letter of rec to any adoption agency. But if you need a phone call? I got you.”

Magnus laughed, bringing his arm across Taako’s and pulling him into a tight hug. He placed a kiss on the side of Taako’s forehead before saying, “Want me to wrangle in Julia so we can tackle this again tomorrow?”

“Sounds good,” Taako replied, allowing himself to relax into Magnus’s embrace. A brief moment passed then Magnus straightened up and with outstretched arms, patted both of Taako’s shoulders twice before making his way into Taako’s bedroom to retrieve Julia. They said goodbye to him as they left, leaving Taako to toss himself across his now-clean couch and take what he found to be a well-deserved nap.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got to Kravitz... thank goodness.
> 
> Brief content warning for a very vague reference to self harm scars.

The following week left Taako feeling completely drained. It had been a long time since he felt compelled to keep his apartment clean and he had underestimated the amount of mental energy it took to maintain a place that was usually used solely as a space to collapse at the end of the day. But he supposed the exhaustion was probably worth the end result of slapping a signed apprenticeship contract down onto a clean counter. Lup claimed that she was going to stop by on Monday to see it for herself, so he had to make sure that the place stayed clean through the weekend at the very least.

Taako wanted to feel like people apparently do after such an accomplishment. He wanted to be able to toss his hair back and exclaim that he felt just so _cleansed_ by the whole thing. But in actuality, he just felt terrified to touch or move anything in his home. It was strange to look around and not see the usual signs of his presence. The mess of blankets were missing from the couch, mismatched socks no longer littered the floor, the sink was _empty _\- he felt like a guest in his own home and it was unnerving.__

__When the Saturday of Angus’s first class arrived, he got started like he would any other Saturday. He got dressed and made his way to the Davy Lamp, helping Ren open up the place before he dove into the madness that was the weekend rush. Toward the end of his shift, he noticed someone sitting on the curb by the entrance. Passing by the door again to get a better look, he confirmed that it was Angus, who was thumbing through a book that was propped in his lap._ _

__“Should I let the kid in?” Ren asked, appearing behind him._ _

__Taako spun around on his heel, shoving his hand in the pocket of his apron to play with the straws piled in it. “Oh, I got a lesson with him after work,” he replied, “Just leave him there, I guess.”_ _

__Ren blinked several times, grabbing him by the shoulders. “ _Excuse_ me?!” she exclaimed, “Is _that_ why the kid hugged you last week?”_ _

__“Uh, yeah,” Taako replied._ _

__Her eyes lit up before she tossed her head back and cheered. “So that means you’re doing magic again?!” she exclaimed._ _

__“Whoa, hey,” Taako hushed her, “Fuck, I forgot that you used to be a fan.” He ran his fingers through his hair and muttered, “It’s just an apprenticeship. Minimal use of magic on my end.”_ _

__The smile still didn’t leave Ren’s face. “Maybe it’ll be what you need to get back in the magic game!” she exclaimed, tightening her grip on his shoulders._ _

__“That’s a hard maybe and you know it,” he replied._ _

__She let go of his shoulders, shaking her head. “Well, I’m happy for you,” she said, “Let the kid come in. I’ll give him some fries or something.”_ _

__“Maybe another time,” Taako replied, “We got a lot we need to go over today. No time to dilly dally.”_ _

__“Just don’t burn him out, all right?” Ren warned._ _

__“Me? Burn anyone out? Please,” Taako grumbled. He finished up the last twenty minutes of his shift before he signed out and made his way outside, Angus lifting up his head from his book to face him._ _

__“Hello, sir!” Angus exclaimed, closing the book. He smiled brightly._ _

__“Hey, yourself,” Taako replied. He gestured toward the book and asked, “You still researching?”_ _

__“Oh, no,” Angus replied, “It’s a bit of light reading! It’s from a series about this boy named Caleb Cleveland… he’s a boy detective like I want to be!”_ _

__“Okay, well. Let’s get going,” Taako replied. He shoved his hands in his pockets, passing Angus. Angus got up and followed behind him. “You cut it close with the contract, little dude. What took you so long to get a piece of paper signed?”_ _

__Angus sighed. “My apologies, sir. I wanted to get it done sooner, but it was difficult getting ahold of my grandfather. You know how it goes, I’m sure.”_ _

__“Whatever,” Taako replied. “Also, disclaimer, doing lessons with me during this time means I’m going to smell like fries.”_ _

__“That’s fine, sir,” Angus chirped, “Do you work at the diner a lot?”_ _

__“Yeah. The owner, Ren? She’s a friend of mine.”_ _

__“She seems really nice.”_ _

__Taako tossed his head back to lock eyes with Angus. He sighed and said, “Yeah. She is. Support local businesses or whatever.” He looped his fingers around one of the tight curls by his ears and asked, “Hey, what grade are you in? Just curious.”_ _

__“I’m in high school!” Angus exclaimed, appeared at his side to pull a proud stance. Taako raised his eyebrows and Angus added, “I skipped two grades! I’m twelve!”_ _

__Taako blinked several times. “ _Two grades_?” he asked._ _

__“The child study team told me that I have excellent critical thinking skills and the reading level of a college student!” He didn’t budge from his proud stance, smiling._ _

__Taako nearly yanked at his hair. “That’s well and good, but not gonna help you much with magic.” He let go of the curls, watching them quickly retract spring back toward his head. “You got a wand?”_ _

__Angus nodded, pulling a nylon cord from underneath his shirt. He unsheathed a lanyard with a small wand at the end of it. Taako involuntarily sneered at it. It was light varnished wood with a white plastic handle, common for kid-targeted wands. The problem was that their accuracy was dubious at best. It was like trying to play a song on a recorder versus a clarinet. Sure it could be done, but it certainly wasn’t going to be pretty._ _

__“All right,” Taako said, dashing ahead. Angus widened his steps, trying his best to keep up. “Oh, no car, by the way,” Taako said, “Sorry if you thought you’d be getting rides.”_ _

__“It’s fine! My grandfather doesn’t drive, either!” Angus said, nearly able to keep up with him._ _

__Taako swallowed down a potential snide remark. He didn’t want to find out anything concrete about his grandfather. If he did that could easily mean that he would have to form a personal connection to the kid and that wasn’t the point of this whole venture, even if Lup thought otherwise. It was bad enough that he had a contract that formally binded them already._ _

__Taako stopped in front of his place, locking eyes with Steven before the dog started to bark._ _

__“You have a dog, sir?” Angus asked._ _

__“Fuck no,” Taako replied, “That’s my brother’s dog.”_ _

__“You have a brother?” Angus’s eyes seemed to light up at the premise._ _

__“We’re adopted,” Taako snapped. Even that seemed a little cheap in his mouth and he added, “You’ll probably meet him today. I live in an apartment above his place.”_ _

__“What’s it like having a brother?”_ _

__Taako turned back to squint at him before he started to make his way toward the back of the house. “I dunno. It’s not too different from having a sister, I guess. You’re never lonely. That’s for damn sure.”_ _

__“That sounds nice,” Angus murmured. He quickly added, “Oh, I’m an only child. It gets kinda lonely sometimes. Too quiet. You know?”_ _

__“I think I get it,” Taako replied, “C’mon, up the stairs. I don’t have any pets to entertain you, but I cleaned up the place for you.”_ _

__“Thank you! I appreciate it!” Angus exclaimed as Taako opened up the door and let him inside. Angus dutifully took off his shoes near the door, placing his backpack next to it before he stood awkwardly in the entrance._ _

__“You can look around, Taako said, “I just need to get out of these clothes.”_ _

__“I’ll wait for you. Then you could give me a tour if you’d like,” Angus said, grabbing one of the stools by the counter and plopping on top of it. He swung his little legs back and forth, fiddling with his wand excitedly. Taako went to his bedroom area, fumbling around his dresser, trying to remember how Julia organized it. . He eventually found a cropped shirt and a pair of jeans, and he entered the main part of the apartment again to find Angus still sitting at the counter, tugging at the lanyard around his neck. Taako pulled up the stool next to him, clanking his elbow on the counter and using his hand to prop his head up._ _

__Angus quickly let go of the wand, letting it fall into his lap. His wide eyes were focused on Taako’s arms, scanning them up and down._ _

__Taako dragged his eyes toward them, biting the inside of his lip. He lifted his head, trying to twist his forearm away from Angus. At this point, he wasn’t even sure what was more embarrassing- the scars he acquired over the years in kitchens and fugue states or the faded S he got tattooed in someone’s living room many years back. “Let’s get started,” Taako said. He stretched across the counter and tried to carefully evade the framed camping photo before he grabbed a pack of matches._ _

__“Those are your siblings, right?” Angus asked._ _

__“Yeah, from, like. Ten years ago,” Taako replied. He ripped a match from the pack and flicked it on, bringing it between himself and Angus. “You said you can’t really do cantrips very well, right?” he asked._ _

__Angus shook his head. “No. I mean, I tried, but it didn’t go too well.”_ _

__“So let’s try a basic transmutation cantrip. Prestidigitation. It’s easy to practice and when you get good at it, you can do quite a bit with it without burning any spell slots. So you wanna cast it and…” He muttered a spell and the match went out instantly. He smirked, even if it was nothing to brag about. “Like I said, it’s super easy. And when you practice it enough, you even take out a small campfire. You want me to show you again?” When he looked up he saw Angus had somehow materialized a small notebook and was dutifully writing everything down._ _

__“Well?” Taako asked._ _

__“Can I see it one more time, sir?” he asked, “I just want to make sure I have the pronunciation right.”_ _

__Taako rolled his eyes before he grabbed another match. “Yeah, sure thing, kid,” he said. He lit the match and did the cantrip again, the result ending up the same. Angus wrote even more notes in reaction to it._ _

__“Now you try,” Taako instructed._ _

__Angus pushed his notebook aside, grabbing his wand and bringing it near his face. His lip quivered before he said the cantrip, gesticulating with this wand in the process. The light on the match bellowed out briefly, Taako nearly yelping before it was extinguished._ _

__Angus gasped, dropping his wand. “I did it!” he exclaimed._ _

__Taako glanced at the pads of his fingers, rubbing at the ash left on some of them. “Yeah, kid. You did,” he noted._ _

__“I need to make sure it doesn’t go out like that,” he said._ _

__“Well, that’s what practice is for, yanno?” Taako asked._ _

__Angus pointed at the matches and said, “Give me another one, sir!”_ _

__Taako sighed, even though he found himself smirking. “Yeah, sure thing, kid,” he replied._ _

__The next few hours were devoted to Angus trying to learn as many cantrips as he could. What specifically fascinated Taako about the kid was his need to not just learn everything, but put in time to practice it. He wanted to push himself, even if his spell slot amount didn’t allow him to. At least he seemed to agree to take breaks when necessary._ _

__The afternoon began to give way to the early evening and Angus was content trying to manipulate a feather on the couch while Taako checked his phone. Sure enough, there was a text from Magnus that read, “Sounds like fun upstairs. Is the kid staying for dinner?”_ _

__Taako looked up, watching Angus yawn before he attempted to float the feather again. “Hey, Ango, you staying for dinner?”_ _

__Angus looked up, his lips pressed together._ _

__“It’s all good if you do,” Taako said, “My brother, the one who lives downstairs? He’s making food. It’s not too big of a deal and he’d love to meet you.”_ _

__Angus shrugged. “Oh, I don’t want to be a bother.”_ _

__“You wouldn’t be. Trust me. Magnus and Julia are good people.” He got up from the stool, stretching awkwardly before he closed the gap between Angus and him. He plucked the feather from mid-air, spinning it near Angus’s nose before he said, “You need to actually replenish yourself if you want to be able to keep practicing.”_ _

__Angus bit the inside of his lip. “Uh, let me ask… my grandfather…”_ _

__Taako nodded as Angus got up, pulling his phone out of his pocket and bringing it to his ear as he closed the bathroom door. Taako resisted following him, choosing to reply to Magnus to say that they would come downstairs._ _

__Angus came out of the bathroom moments later, smiling. “I have to leave _right after_ ,” he explained._ _

__“Cool, go collect your things and we can go downstairs.” Taako grabbed a sweatshirt that was hanging by the door and tossed it on. “Oh, are you okay with dogs? Because they have a big guy named Steven. He doesn’t bite, but he definitely jumps.”_ _

__“I mean, I don’t spend time with many dogs,” Angus confessed, “Uh, can you make sure he doesn’t jump up on me?”_ _

__“Mmmm, probably not,” Taako confessed, “I’m not exactly a dog person.”_ _

__Angus took a deep breath, putting on his sweater and backpack before he followed Taako out of the apartment. They made their way downstairs, greeted to the scene of Julia setting up the table. She saw them before they made it to the door, sliding the door open and ushering them in._ _

__“Where’s the dog?” Taako asked, scanning the room._ _

__“Got the baby gates up so he doesn’t jump on our guest,” Julia explained. She lowered her head to make eye contact with Angus. “Hi, I’m Julia. Nice to meet you.”_ _

__“Oh!” Angus exclaimed, reaching out his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, ma’am. My name is Angus McDonald!”_ _

__Julia laughed, shaking his hand heartily. “Well, Angus, I’m going to warn you ahead of time, we’re not too formal around these parts.”_ _

__Angus looked puzzled by the statement. “I mean, I suppose that may be true, but you’re all older than me and I should… respect that…”_ _

__Julia waved her hand, sliding a chair for him. “We appreciate it. I’m just letting you know it’s not needed. Take a seat. Do you want to meet the dog or should we keep him behind the gate?”_ _

__“Oh, I mean… it’s his house, right?” Angus asked._ _

__Julia put her hands on her hips. “I mean, it’s up to you. You’re the guest. That always trumps whoever lives here.”_ _

__Angus swung his legs nervously. “Well, I mean… it’d be nice. I don’t get to meet dogs often.”_ _

__Taako followed Julia to the gate. She raised her eyebrows and said, “You weren’t kidding that this kid was next level.” She pet Steven’s head before she ordered him to sit._ _

__“I wasn’t going to take on any kid. I probably wouldn’t be able to, anyway,” Taako noted. He braced himself as Julia opened the gate. Luckily, Steven seemed relatively calm, choosing to headbutt Taako, but not jump on him. He sniffed his legs before dashing over toward Angus. Angus tentatively scratched his ear, nearly jumping when the dog sneezed playfully._ _

__Julia rushed over to Angus’s side to monitor the situation. She knelt down next to Angus, trying to shove Steven’s butt to get him to sit. He finally did and she looked up at Angus. “All right, his name is Steven. He’s a pretty good boy, but he gets very excited. So just… make sure he sits and he’s listening… and then you can give him a pet.” She rubbed at his neck, laughing when Steven’s face scrunched up and he began to kick his leg against the linoleum._ _

__Taako leaned against the doorway, jumping when he felt someone pinch at his sides. He turned around and saw Magnus, his arms still outstretched and laughing at him. “Works every time,” he muttered, opening up the stove and grabbing a towel to pull out a tray of food. Taako scanned the top of it and hummed. It looked like some kind of baked ziti. A tried and true dish at the Burnsides household._ _

__“How was the lesson today?” Magnus asked._ _

__Taako sighed, twirling his finger around one of his curls. He studied the contrast between the old bleach job and his naturally dark brown hair. “Pretty good,” he admitted, “The kid is a fucking workhorse. He legitimately spent the entire afternoon working on cantrips.”_ _

__“So he’s got a good work ethic,” Magnus noted._ _

__“I mean, yeah.” Taakko would never admit to it, but there was something familiar about the kid. It certainly wasn’t that he reminded him of himself. Taako was a pretty good student at wizarding college in spite of his outward demeanor. But he was never into the academics of it. He just wanted to be flashy and the best. In truth, Angus’s need to grind was much more like Lup. Yes, Lup wanted to be flashy and be the best, as well, but she was the one that actually liked putting the time into it. She never hesitated to call her partners nerds, but in truth, she was one herself._ _

__“So you’re going to stick with this kid?” Magnus asked._ _

__“I mean, at least until Lup holds out on her end of the deal,” Taako replied._ _

__Magnus rolled his eyes, grabbing the tray with his towel and bringing the tray out to the table. As Taako followed him out, he saw that Steven was pressed up against Angus’s side, as he pet him. Julia was talking to him about school._ _

__“Did you know that Angus skipped _two grades_ in elementary school?” Julia asked._ _

__“Two grades?” Magnus echoed, beginning to put food on everyone’s plates. “I didn’t even know that they let kids do that!”_ _

__“It wasn’t two in one year,” Angus explained, “I had to advocate for myself a bit for the second one.” Magnus gave him his plate and he thanked him before he added, “I go to most of my high school classes, but I’ve been able to take an independent study or two, as well.”_ _

__“So you couldn’t settle with just being a detective and a good student. You had to add being a magic user to your resume,” Julia noted, taking her plate back from Magnus._ _

__“Well, it’s not like I can’t use magic for either of those things,” Angus said, “But I guess if I could it’d be great to be able to go to wizarding college after high school.”_ _

__“Your mentor here went to wizarding school,” Magnus said, taking Taako’s plate for emphasis. Taako rolled his eyes in response. “He and Lup were toward the top of their class,” he added._ _

__“That makes sense!” Angus exclaimed, “I know Ms. Lup runs the pyromancy school. I’ve heard nothing but good things. And Mr. Taako here has shown that he is a patient teacher already.”_ _

__“Uh, don’t use mister for me, kid, it makes me feel weird,” Taako said._ _

__Angus gasped. “My apologies, sir!” he exclaimed, “I won’t do it again.”_ _

__“...Thanks,” Taako mumbled._ _

__Magnus and Julia looked at each other before Magnus said, “Taako? Patient?”_ _

__“Oh, yes!” Angus replied, “He let me go through an entire pack of matches until I was able to do a prestidigitation cantrip up to the level I wanted.”_ _

__Taako blushed as Magnus laughed. “Oh, wow! I haven’t seen Taako take on an apprentice before so I guess I don’t really know what he’d be like. But I’m glad to hear it. So you think you will be coming back?”_ _

__“If he’d have me!” Angus exclaimed._ _

__“Well?” Julia asked._ _

__“Of course,” Taako replied, “Like, duh. He’s the easiest kid to teach. Now go eat your food, Agnes. It’s going to get cold.”_ _

__The dinner resumed, conversation usually centering on Angus and his life. Angus seemed to want to focus on school in the academic sense. There was little to no discussion of any friends or even peers that he worked with day-to-day. Toward the end of the meal, Julia offered dessert and he nearly jumped out of his chair._ _

__“Oh! I can’t do that!” he exclaimed, “I need to go home. I have to help my grandfather in the evening.”_ _

__“Do you want a ride back?” Julia asked, “We can get you home sooner than if you walk.”_ _

__“It’s really not too far!” Angus exclaimed, “And I’ve already taken up your time… thank you so, so much for the dinner. It was delicious.”_ _

__“Let us at least give you leftovers,” Magnus offered, “Hold on, like, two seconds.”_ _

__Angus stopped at that, slowly nodding his head. “If it’s okay with you…” he started._ _

__“Yeah, let me get some Fantasy Tupperware, I’ll be right back,” Magnus said, getting up and heading toward the kitchen. He returned with a small container, filling it to the top with leftover baked ziti._ _

__“So we’re on for next week, same time?” Taako asked._ _

__Angus nodded, grabbing his jacket from behind the door. He put it on and buttoned it up. “Yes! I can’t wait!” he exclaimed._ _

__“Good to hear. See you then, kid,” Taako said. He felt the wind get knocked out of him for a second as Angus suddenly hugged him. He leaned into the hug, muttered, “You gotta get going,” as Angus nodded his head and hugged Magnus and Julia and gave Steven a head rub before he left._ _

__Everybody was silent for a long moment before Julia said, “I’m worried sick.”_ _

__“Me, too,” Magnus confessed._ _

__Taako stayed quiet, watching the wooden chimes attached to the sliding door swing back and forth._ _

__*_ _

__Taako wanted to avoid stopping by the school to fill out the paperwork, but Angus refused to let him. He texted him periodically throughout the next two days, reminding him that the paperwork had to be filled out as soon as possible and that the school hours were a very specific timeframe. It didn’t help that he didn’t work on Mondays, meaning that he couldn’t use it as an excuse to push it off again._ _

__He really didn’t have any reason to avoid the school. In truth, he didn’t even go to it for high school. He and Lup were able to score out of the general education track and went to a countywide high school with specialization in magic users, which of course came with its own baggage as a high school experience. But really, he just didn’t have any interest in being in a high school after that point._ _

__Luckily, he got in when most of the students were in class, outside of a student or two walking through the halls to either try to barge into a beloved teacher’s room or go to the bathroom. He got a visitor pass as he made his way toward the office, where a secretary with elaborately curled horns gave him a packet of paperwork for him to fill out._ _

__He grumbled as he sat down, crossing his legs and leaning a clipboard in his lap. He occasionally looked up, watching the secretaries make phone calls and faculty members shuffle along. He filled the forms out, provided identification for them to make copies of, and was ready to make his way out. Moving for the door, he saw someone walking towards him looking down at some papers, and despite trying to give him space, the person still managed to crash right into him._ _

__The person looked up, his dark eyes wide. Taako stood up straight, involuntarily smirking at the sight in front of him. The person looked like a teacher, complete with a lanyard and his identification around his neck while wearing a pair of glasses with a thick rim on the top of them with a gold chain wrapping around. He was also far more attractive than any teacher Taako had ever seen, considering that he had dreads with streaks of red worked into it that was pulled back, opening up his striking face. He looked concerned, reaching out toward Taako and sputtering, “Oh no! Are you alright? I’m so sorry!”_ _

__Taako crossed his arms and lifting his chin. “I mean, I’m fine,” he said and added, “But isn’t it _your_ job to tell kids to watch where they’re going?”_ _

__The teacher groaned, pushing his glasses higher up on his hooked nose. “I mean, if we’re being technical, high school students should already know that. I just teach music.” He reached out his hand more formally. “Uh, my name is Kravitz,” he said, “I teach music theory and concert band here.”_ _

__“Taako,” Taako replied, grabbing his hand. He hissed and said, “Oh, that’s a clammy one.” He brought his hand to his chest, laughing nervously._ _

__“Sorry. Low blood pressure,” Kravitz murmured. He put his hand in his pocket and asked, “Uh, I’m sorry… I’m half elf, but I’m not great at aging elves myself… are you a new student or do you have a student here?”_ _

__Taako laughed. “No need to flatter me. I just got an apprentice and I had to fill out paperwork.”_ _

__“Oh, who is it?” Kravitz asked. He cleared his throat and added, “I mean, you don’t have to disclose. I just… end up teaching almost every student here unless they take choir, so I figured I’d ask.”_ _

__“Angus Mcdonald,” Taako replied, “He’s this tiny thing that’s way too young to be in high school.”_ _

__“Oh! Angus!” Kravitz exclaimed, “Yes! He’s a great student. A very sweet kid. What school of magic did he choose?”_ _

__“Transmutation,” Taako replied, “In all honesty, I have no idea why. But that’s what my training’s in, so I took him on.”_ _

__“Transmutation,” Kravitz muttered, “Yeah, that sounds like a good fit for him. Oh, well, I’m so excited! I’m a bit of a lapsed magic user, I’m afraid. I thought about becoming a bard, but I really needed the steady income. So here I am!”_ _

__“I don’t know how stable of a career field I can call teaching,” Taako admitted._ _

__“I mean, compared to other options for musicians,” Kravitz noted. He smiled nervously and added, “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting. Angus is a great student and I’m so glad to hear that he’s being taken care of. Perhaps I’ll be seeing you around?”_ _

__“We’ll see,” Taako replied. He gave Kravitz one last look before he moved around him and made his way out the door. He took one last glance, inspecting Kravitz from behind. He nodded to himself, making his way out the school in significantly higher spirits than when he entered._ _


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for the support! We're finally hitting a lot of the themes I was setting up in the earlier chapters. We're a little less than halfway there. Yahoo!
> 
> There's no specific content warnings for this chapter. There's awkward family dynamics and implied past unhealthy romantic relationship dynamics. Tread carefully, as always.

When Taako got back to his house he saw Lup’s car parked along the curb. Sighing, he walked toward the back where he found Lup sitting on the landing. She had her lips pursed as she listened to music with her earbud in, twirling a sprig of lavender in her hands and sniffing it occasionally.

It was times like this that Taako felt the stark difference between himself and his twin sister. They were identical- long brown curls with golden eyes and tan skin that caught the sun just so. But somewhere along the way their once parallel lines split. And more and more, the same sunlight that drew out Lup’s radiance just seemed to burn Taako. Seeing her sitting there immersed in her music, bright eyed and full of life, Taako hesitated. How could someone identical to himself be so drastically different? Taako felt a familiar wave of self-depreciation, but with a practiced sigh he shook it off and stepped forward. 

“Don't you have a key?” Taako asked, tapping her shoulder.

Lup looked up and giggled. “Oh! I kind of assumed you were just asleep.”

“I had to do paperwork at Angus’s school,” Taako replied. He watched Lup put away her earbuds and he said, “You wanna see the place?”

“Duh, why did you think I stopped by, doofus!” she exclaimed, getting up and following Taako up the rest of the steps. Taako unlocked the door and let Lup in, watching her face to gauge her reaction. She grinned immediately, hugging him for a moment before she walked around. “You think you're gonna be able to keep it this way?” she asked.

“I mean, Angus is coming back for at least another week, so I have to,” Taako said.

“Julia said you were able to purge a lot of stuff that was from that fuckhead,” she said, still looking around, “You should have told me. I would have helped you through it.”

“I mean, I just dissociated through most of it,” Taako confessed. He finally put his jacket on the hook and sat down on the sofa. “I'm still pissed she made me get rid of the jewelry, though.”

“It was tainted,” Lup snapped, “I'll get you some good shit for our birthday. Fair?”

“I'm holding you to it,” Taako replied. He saw Lup approaching and he scooted over, letting her sit next to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he huffed, adjusting to let her fit. “Hey, can I get that Fantasy Kitchenaid Standing Mixer now?”

She shook her head. “Nah, not yet,” she replied, “That's way too easy.”

Taako groaned. “You're shitting me, right? We shook on it!”

“Shoulda read the fine print. I'll get it for you when I think you've earned it.” She looked up at him and grinned wickedly.

“I can't believe you!” Taako exclaimed.

She saluted. “I know you have the reputation for hustling, but you need to remember that I’m just as good, if not better than you.”

Taako sighed. “Well, here you go. The apartment. You can even check out the bedroom. It’s clean, too.”

Lup grinned. “I will,” she said, getting up and making her way over toward it. She laughed as she sat on the rolling desk chair, spinning around several times before she said, “Not bad, not bad.” Her eyes scanned the desk, grabbing the dry erase board that was propped up against the wall. She took the pen that was set next to it and wrote her name with a heart around it before she propped it up again. “You ready for karaoke tonight?”

Taako groaned. “Oh, shit, that’s tonight, isn’t it?”

“Uh huh,” Lup added, continuing to doodle flowers around her name. “I hope you’re ready. Merle’s bringing the kids.”

“What’s the point?” Taako asked, “It becomes ‘Taako, Mavis wants to sing with you, so you can’t do that raunchy song.’ ‘Taako, stop grinding against the couch, you’ll give Mookie ideas!’” He grabbed a stack of Post It notes and began flipping through them. “Besides, it’s not like either of them even _like_ karaoke…”

“Well, no. I already tried to tell Merle that, but you can probably guess how that went,” Lup pointed out. She sighed and said, “Well, I’m going to try some Fifth Harmony tonight. You up for it?”

“No shit,” he replied, “Let’s pick up some food and head over?”

Lup nodded in agreement.

*

Taako and Lup arrived at the karaoke place with plastic bags full of take out containers. The person at the front said, “Party for Merle?” he asked. Taako gave a noncommittal grunt.   
“I’ll take that as a yes,” the man said. “Door number six.”

Walknig back into the dimly-lit hallway, Taako and Lup found the door with a black six screwed into it. It was loose and had swung upside down so they had almost passed it by. Lup opened up the door and saw Merle tinkering with the sound system by the TV screen as two young dwarves flipped through the binders of song options.

Lup went toward Merle as Taako made his way over toward the kids. “Mookie! Mavis!” he exclaimed. He sat down on the couch and opened up his arms as the smaller boy plowed into him. 

The older girl reached over, waving her hands. “Mookie!” she scolded, “Calm down!”

“Hi, Uncle Taako!” Mookie exclaimed, squeezing Taako tighter,.

Taako groaned, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. “Hey, kiddo,” he said. He tried his best to look over at the girl and say, “How’re you doing, Miss Mavis?”

Mavis looked down at her feet and smiled for a moment before she looked up again. “I’m doing all right,” she said. She tapped Mookie’s shoulder and Mookie perked up, letting go of Taako and sitting next to Mavis again. 

Lup walked over toward them and Mookie launched himself out of his seat, clinging to Lup as he squealed, “Auntie Lup!”

“Give me a kiss, you little monkey!” Lup exclaimed, catching him and turning her cheek toward him to let him give a big kiss. Lup brought him down and began to playfully punch at him as Taako turned toward Mavis, bringing himself closer to her.

Taako had a fondness for both of Merle’s kids, but he couldn’t help but find himself looking out for Mavis in particular. She was still a kid, but old enough to recognize and have to deal with the bullshit that Merle’s life seemed to be sometimes. She wasn’t adopted into Merle’s family out of desperation like Lup, Magnus, or Taako. She was happy with Hekuba and didn’t seem particularly interested in Merle’s attempts at forgiveness like Mookie was. 

“You thinking about singing tonight?” Taako asked.

Mavis snorted. “Depends… are you and Aunt Lup going to cue up a bunch of pop songs I don’t know?”

Taako laughed. “Well, what _do_ you like, Maev? Lup and I do like an awful lot of pop music, but we know a bunch of other stuff, too.”

“Musicals?” Mavis asked.

Taako gestured toward himself. “Who do you take me for? Of course I know musicals. Can’t guarantee I can hit the notes, but I’ll try my damn best.” 

Mavis smiled, taking the binder in her lap and spreading it out to Taako’s. They flipped through the pages together, Mavis asking him if he knew certain titles and he nodded his head when he did. As they continued to go through the selection, Barry, Lucretia, Magnus and Julia entered, Mookie quickly ungluing himself from Lup and jumping into Magnus’s arms. 

Mavis waved, not making any effort to move. Taako stuck his tongue out at everyone and quickly turned toward Mavis again. “Oh, Maev, you’re in high school now, right?”

“Yeah. Tenth grade. Don’t you remember…” She huffed before she shook her head. “Anyway, I’m in high school. Same school as Uncle Magnus went. Why do you ask?”

“Two questions,” he said, “One, do you know a kid named Angus McDonald?”

“Angus… oh, yes,” Mavis said, “He’s in my math class. He’s apparently really smart and is already taking math a year higher than most ninth graders.” She raised her eyebrows. “Why do you want to know?”

“I took him on as an apprentice. What’s he like in class?”

“You have an apprentice?!” Mavis exclaimed.

“Mavis. Pumpkin. Focus.”

Mavis sighed. She brought her hand to the side of her face, stroking the sideburns that were growing in along her cheekbones. “He’s… I don’t know. He started off the school year kind of like a know-it-all? Not intentionally so, but he would want to always raise his hand and answer and all that. I think some of the boys in the back gave him a hard time about it and then he just… went kinda quiet. He gets his work done and answers questions when he’s asked, but since then I haven’t really heard him participate much.”

Taako sighed, tossing his head back and staring up at the ceiling. As soon as he did, someone dimmed the lights and turned on a laser light that swirled red and green dots all through the room. “Is that so?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Mavis replied, “I mean… I’ve never been mean to him, I promise! But he’s also a freshman. And a young freshman, at that. So I haven’t exactly… reached out to him. I hope you understand…”

“Oh, totally, Maev,” Taako replied, bringing his head forward again, “Like, I’m not blaming you. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Would you like me to reach out to him?” she asked. She looked over at the front of the room and cringed as she saw Merle lean in to stretch, the mic in his hand.

“I mean, only if you want to,” Taako replied. He wanted to add more, but Merle brought the mic to his mouth and said, “I’m gonna start this set off with a classic… a little Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girl Just Wanna Have Fun!’”

“It’s hardly a classic when you sing it _every_ time!” Lup exclaimed. She was already contently sandwiched between Barry and Lucretia, Mookie plopped on her lap. She was finger combing his scraggly hair and trying to pull it into a neat ponytail.

“Oh, come on, now, Lup! It’s a fan favorite!” Merle replied. He looked over at Taako and Mavis, giving them a pair of fingerguns before the screen gave him a three second countdown to begin.

“Let’s just look at him and cheer between verses to make it look like we’re listening,” Taako whispered to Mavis before he let out a whoop and waved his hands.

“Good idea,” Mavis replied, clapping a few times before she tilted her head toward Taako and said, “I can at least, like, say hi to Angus in the halls. Might as well, seeing as though he’s my big sibling’s apprentice.” Merle began to twirl around, emulating the girls dancing on the screen and she cringed before clapping her hands a few times again.

“Only if you want to,” Taako replied. He winced as Merle bombed one of the higher notes and said, “Okay, one more question. Then you’re off the hook, I promise. Not about Angus.”

She made eye contact with him for a brief moment before looking to her father again.

“What do you know about the music teacher… Kellough? Something with a K?”

Mavis pressed her lips together before her eyes lit up. “Kravitz?” she asked.

“Yeah! That!” Taako exclaimed.

“He’s cool. I want to take AP Music Theory with him next year. The band kids really like him and he sounds like he’s a good teacher. Did you see him around? I’m pretty sure he lives in town.”

“Something like that. Just wanted your input,” Taako replied. He waved his arms in the direction of Merle and cheered. Luckily, Mavis seemed to understand well enough that he wanted the conversation to end. As Merle ended the song, trying to make his vocals fade away with the music, Taako faced Mavis again. “Do you have a song you want to do?”

Mavis looked down at the binder. “Let me think about it,” she replied, smiling.

*

Taako would never admit it to anyone, but by the time Saturday came, he was excited to be able to work with Angus.

He was already well-practiced in masking his emotions, and it became an almost unconscious reflex to deflect conversations on the topic. And even if Lup were to eventually force it out of him, he could always frame it in a way that inflated his ego, because admitting that he genuinely cared about something would be a fate worse than death.

But when Angus arrived at the curb of the diner that Saturday, about half an hour left in Taako’s shift, he couldn’t help but smile and idle by the doorway for a brief moment before Ren leaned in and said, “Can I _please_ let him in and give him something to eat? I highly doubt you let him take breaks during his lessons.”

Taako turned toward her, his smile instantly wiped from his face. “I mean, whatever, I’m not paying his tab,” he grumbled.

“Why would I _ever_ make such an assumption?” she asked, walking out of the diner to talk to Angus. Taako couldn’t help but watch the exchange through the windows as Angus’s eyes lit up and he skipped behind Ren, making his way to a small table near the front. Angus caught sight of Taako and waved at him. Taako impulsively stuck his tongue out before going back to check on his customers.

When Taako’s shift ended, he signed out and found Angus still sitting at the table, writing on a worksheet. Taako sat down across from him, watching him scribble math work in the appointed boxes for a few problems before he said, “You sure know how to block this noise out. I’m not sure if that’s a good quality or a bad quality.”

Angus looked up, quickly pushing his glasses higher up on his nose. “Oh! I didn’t see you, sir! Should we get going?” 

Taako glanced at the plate near his worksheet which still had a few fries in it. “You’re not done eating.”

“I don’t want to waste your time…” Angus started.

Taako took one of them and dipped it in the ketchup. He shoved it in his mouth and said, “Wasting food is a bigger crime.” He swallowed it for emphasis.

Angus nodded. “Oh, yes, of course,” he muttered, taking a handful of broken fries and popping them in his mouth. 

“How was your week, Agnes?” Taako asked.

“Uhm,” Angus started, looking around the table nervously, “It’s… it’s going all right! I have a few geometry problems I’m trying to finish up. Oh! Speaking of geometry… I had one of my classmates say that she’s your sister? Mavis Highchurch? Is that true?”

Taako smirked. “Yeah, she is. I mentioned that I was training you, but I didn’t think she would go out of her way like that. Was she nice?”

Angus nodded his head. “She invited me to sit with her during lunch! I really appreciate it! I don’t usually stay in the cafeteria during lunch… always so hard to find a place to sit, you know? I usually sit in a teacher’s classroom… anyway, I really appreciated it. She has good taste in books!”

Taako nodded. “Was it a one time thing or…”

“I’m not sure. I don’t want to bother her.”

Taako took another fry and pushed it around in the ketchup. “It wouldn’t hurt to try asking her, Ango. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. And I’m not just saying that, because I’m her sib.”

“I’ll… get there,” Angus replied. He checked the plate and saw that it was empty. “Can we get going to work on magic? I really want to see if I can get a level one spell done today!”

Taako sighed. “Sure thing,” he replied. He got up, watching Angus try to collect his things. He waved at Ren and led Angus to his place, trying to figure out if he wanted to text Mavis to intervene in this conversation and most importantly, why Angus’s social life suddenly mattered so much to him. 

*

Taako always felt that time was a strange accordion of moving quickly and slowly, sometimes all at once. It unfortunately was not something that was particularly within his control. When he was younger, Merle tried to put him in talk therapy and he ended up horrendously mismatched with a human woman who pretty much opened their first session saying that elves were difficult patients, because of their long lifespans. They could experience trauma and carry it for centuries, and of course, not to mention how they’d have to deal with outliving close ones of less long-living races. It wasn’t like Taako disagreed. When he allowed himself to reflect on his feelings toward his family, it was easy to get caught up in how _old_ Barry was or how he and Lup could very well outlive Mookie and Mavis. It was awful and as far as he could tell, there wasn’t much of a solution to those issues. They plagued elves older and wiser than him since the dawn of time and there wasn’t much he could do but continue moving forward.

It was still weird, though. As tedious as his weeks could get, Angus would still arrive at the diner on Saturday, karaoke sessions would take place every two weeks, and the cool spring air gave way to the warm summer breeze from the shore. It was midway through May and Lup excitedly stopped by his apartment, reminding him that the local farmer’s market was open.

They walked out of the apartment together, Taako wearing a massive straw hat with bug-eyed sunglasses and a floral sundress. Lup swayed side-to-side, wearing cutoff jean shorts and an oversized t-shirt that was tied off at the waist. “I’ve been waiting _all year_ for this!” she exclaimed, “It’s been warm enough that I’m hoping there might be some strawberries available already!”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Taako replied. He braced himself as he felt the sea breeze hit him before he kept walking. “Why didn’t we take your car?”

Lup shrugged. “It’s a nice day out. Unlike you, I don’t always get to walk places.” She raced up the steps to the boardwalk, looking out to the beach for a moment. “Love this,” she muttered under her breath before she raced ahead. “It’s still at the space in front of the pizza place, right?” she asked.

“How should I know?” Taako grumbled, following her, “I just figured we’d walk until we stumbled upon it.” 

They continued walking down the boardwalk, evading morning joggers and people walking past with bags of produce over their shoulders. A few moms waved at Lup, saying something about their kid’s skills improving or whatever. By the second group, Lup turned her head and asked, “So how’s Angus doing?”

“He’s doing all right,” Taako replied, “I mean, he can finally get a decent amount of level one spells down. But he has, like, no spell slots, which is annoying. Especially when he actually wants to learn way more.”

 

“That’s the worst,” Lup replied, “I _hate_ when I get a kid who really wants to learn, but they don’t have the capacity yet. Have you been giving him exercises to help with that?”

“I mean, not really. I kinda don’t remember those days, to be honest,” Taako confessed. 

Lup sighed. “Let me get you a print out,” she said, “I have a whole packet that I give my students around this point in their training. He should be able to understand it really well.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Taako replied, “Hey, am I worthy enough for my standing mixer yet? It’s been, like, a month of lessons.”

Lup paused, narrowing her eyes before she suddenly hollered “Strawberries!” before taking off in the direction of the small market booths that had now come into view. Taako sighed as she rushed ahead, yelling, “They’re probably not ripe yet!” as she flipped him off. He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and staying toward the edge of the farmer’s market, seeing if there was anything he could buy that he could get away with not having to actually cook.

He was glad that he was far enough away from his chef days that he could exist without people pointing out the irony that he was a cook who was terrified of cooking. But it was nice to be surrounded by people who were passionate. There was the family that made olive oil and balsamic vinegar for multiple generations, a small-time winery that didn’t even card him when he got samples at this point, and a larger farm that specialized in peaches and apples that he would go apple picking at every fall with Lup and Magnus. There were some newcomers, but overall, it was a strangely stable environment, even if the wind blew a little too hard sometimes and the seagulls were a constant threat to any stray vegetables. 

He looked down at his dress, trying to smooth the skirt against his legs when he registered that someonewas saying hi to him, probably for the third time now. He looked up and saw Angus’s music teacher standing in front of him, still wearing a black short sleeved collared shirt and black pants, but this time with a bag of colorful vegetables packed under his arm. “You’re Taako, right?” he asked.

Taako pushed his sunglasses lower on his nose to lock eyes with Kravitz before setting them back and nodding his head. “Angus’s teacher, yeah?”

Kravitz nodded, smiling at him. “Angus has been telling me about his magic lessons every Monday… how are you doing?” he asked.

“Eh, same old, same old. Angus is doing really well, so I can’t complain.” Taako tilted his head. “Is school out or something?”

“It’s a holiday for Yondalla. We have a lot of halflings at the school, so we got the day off,” Kravitz explained. He added, “I’ve noticed Angus has been a _lot_ more confident in class lately… he doesn’t stop by my classroom during lunch as much, either. Something about how he sits with Mavis Highchurch a lot now. She’s a good girl, so I’m pretty happy about it.”

“Oh, good, she never tells me anything,” Taako replied.

“You know her?” Kravitz asked. He put the bag of produce down on the ground to rub at his shoulder. 

“Related to her through marriage,” Taako explained, “Merle Highchurch adopted me and my sister when we were twelve.”

Kravitz’s face twisted up for a moment to a point that it was unreadable.

“I’m legally his kid, I can only imagine what it’s like dealing with him and his ex-wife in the same room.”

Kravitz waved his hands. “No! I mean, I didn’t have any trouble, but I’m the music teacher. I’m not exactly the priority. But I’ve heard stories…”

“Yeah, that’s a shitshow. It’s cool, I get it. Hekuba’s a total mama bear and with good reason.” Taako looked away for a moment and back at the bag of produce in front of Kravitz’s feet. “Which stand did you get those?”

“Oh, I got them from bigger place toward the back. Why? Not the right choice?”

Taako shook his head. “You just came into town, right? I can’t blame you. Big place in the back has decent produce, but they’ll always be a dollar or two more than the smaller place in the front. It’s not always the prettiest, but it’ll still taste good and save you a few dollars.”

Kravitz looked down at the bag and back up at Taako. “Well, thank you so much for the advice,” he replied, “I’ll try to do better next time I get here.”

Taako smirked, looking up and seeing Lup walking over toward him. She stopped short, about to turn around when he waved her over. Lup sighed dramatically, taking larger steps as she appeared at his side, smiling and looking at Kravitz. “I just got lettuce at half the price, because I haggled!” she exclaimed. She glanced at Kravitz and lifted her chin. “And who’re you?” she asked, a slight purr in her voice. 

“Oh! I’m Kravitz. Mac Kravitz. I’m Angus Mcdonald’s music teacher.” He shakily reached out toward her.

“ _Charmed_ ,” Lup said, putting on an accent that was definitely not from anywhere Taako heard of. She shook his hand heartily before bringing to her hip. “Taako, you remember your ID?” she asked, her voice normal again, “The usual person isn’t at the stand and I want wine samples.”

“Oh, _fuck_ yeah,” Taako replied, “See you around, Krav?”

“Ah, yeah…” Kravitz said, “Uh, see you… thanks for the tip about saving money!”

“Anytime,” Taako said, following Lup toward the winery table. Lup turned toward him and whispered, “And you didn’t invite him?!”

“Why? Was I supposed to?” Taako asked. He stopped in front of the table and flashed his ID before he asked for a sample of the strawberry wine.

“I mean, he’s _hot_. And I kind of got a vibe that he might be into you,” she noted. She asked for the sangria and rolled the sample cup in her hand a few times before she drank from it, “Is he taken or something?”

“No evidence that he is. Or isn’t,” Taako replied. He put the glass down and asked for a sample of the sangria, as well.

“You gonna do anything about it?” Lup asked. “Was the strawberry wine worth it?”

“Eh,” Taako replied. Lup shrugged and asked for a sample of the white wine instead. Taako downed the sangria sample and said, “I dunno. He a teacher. Angus’s teacher, no less. So it’s a little…” He shuffled from side-to-side, unsure how to express it in words.

Lup shrugged. “I mean, I get that, but I think that it’s worth checking in and figuring things out. You know? He’s cute. And he’s a teacher, so like, he’s probably at the very least a decent person and wouldn’t treat you like garbage.” 

Taako puffed out his cheeks, turning around to try to scope Kravitz again. Sure enough, there he was, gingerly tasting a sample spoon from a honey stand. And for some reason, Taako found the image unnecessarily cute. “You really think so?” he asked.

“I mean, I think you should at least try,” she said, “The worst thing that happens is he turns you down.”

“True enough,” Taako replied. He asked for one more wine sample,downed it, then walked over toward Kravitz. He watched Kravitz take a sip from another sample before he tapped his shoulder. Kravitz turned around, the tiny sample spoon still against his lips. He raised his eyebrows and quickly put the spoon into the trash, tilting his head curiously.

“Uh,” Taako said, his hands searching for pockets in his dress. When he realized that he didn’t have them, he decided to latch them onto the hem of his skirt before looking up and locking eyes with Kravtiz. “So what’s your policy on going out with the mentor of your student?”

Kravitz blinked several times. “I mean, I’d probably want to have a conversation with the student in question. And I hoped that he would do the same. But other than that, I don’t see the big deal... Why?”

“Well…” Taako twisted the fabric across his knuckles. “You’re new here, right? So you don’t know all the go-to spots on the boardwalk yet. Very important information if you want to have a good first summer here.”

Kravitz grinned. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “I mean, you do pose a good point. I wouldn’t want to get caught up in the touristy nonsense, right?”

“How about… I give you my number,” Taako said, grabbing his phone from the purse against his hip. “Would you be able to have your very special talk with our Angus this week so I could take you out next Sunday? I work until the early afternoon, but it should still give us plenty of time.”

Kravitz nodded. “I’d love that,” he replied.

Taako asked for his number, entering it into his phone. He text Kravitz a winky face before he waved. “See you soon, Krav,” he said, turning on his heel and making his way back to Lup.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Holidays and other due dates took precedent. Thank you so much for sticking with this and I hope you enjoy this very taakitz chapter. Thank you so, so much for Gwyn providing edits. They were instrumental in making this possible.

The evening after the farmer’s market was cool, but pleasant. Magnus insisted that Lup stayed over, which left Taako completely on edge, dreading the inevitable after the conversation with Kravitz. While Taako had the reputation of being a jerk, Lup was far more crafty. Instead of persistent jabs, she would let the tension build and wait for the exact right time to strike.. Julia insisted on having a barbecue, complete with burgers and hot dogs. Taako grabbed his food and sat on the edge of the patio, nearly screaming when when he looked up to find Steven right up in his face and very invested in his burger. He got up and found a lawn chair further away, staring at the fence.

Lup sat on the chair across from him, sitting sideways with her legs hanging off the arm of the chair. She glanced at him, raising her eyebrows before she took a bite out of the burger. Magnus and Julia pulled over their chairs, sitting nearby. Taako stayed focused on the fence, sighing loudly. 

“Wait, was there something I missed?” Magnus asked.

Lup leaned forward, grinning. “We went to the farmer’s market today,” she said.

“Aw, it already started?” Magnus asked, “I have to remember to go next week!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lup said, “Anyway, Taako ended up having a conversation with a _very attractive_ music teacher from your alma mater.”

“Oh, really?” Magnus asked, “I guess Mr. Condro finally retired… good for him… what’d you talk about? Angus?”

Julia sighed. “You’re killing me, babe,” she muttered.

Magnus hummed for a long moment before he went, “Uh, I still don’t get it.”

“Care to fish our baby brother out of this one, T?” Lup asked.

Taako sighed, leaning dramatically across his chair. He felt his weight shift in it and he yelped, feeling someone stabilize the chair. He turned around and saw Magnus, concern in his big, brown eyes. Taako sighed, taking a bite of his burger and feeling heat steadily rise in his cheeks before he said, “I might have a date on Sunday.”

Magnus grinned, then quickly tilted his head. “Ohhhhh! Wait, you might?” he asked.

Taako sighed. “Well, some technicalities… he wants to talk to Angus to make sure he’s okay with it, all that… but if Angus is fine with it, I have a date.”

Magnus turned to Julia and nearly wiggled in his seat. Julia nodded her head, smiling at him, as well. What’s he like?” Julia asked, “I’m asking Lup, because I doubt I’ll get much more out of Taako.”

“Gorgeous,” Lup replied, “He was all in black when I saw him. Very goth, but still professional. Dreadlocks with some gold beadwork worked into them. Glasses, but with a cool metal chain attached. Not very librarian, if that’s what you’re thinking. His ears are kinda pointed. I’m thinking he might be half elf? Anyway, he’s super cute. _And_... he’s a teacher! So he can’t have a criminal record like that assfuck!”

Taako rolled his eyes. “Jeez, Lup, how long were you staring?”

“Oh, fuck off,” Lup said, “The point is, I’m happy for you. Even if it’s just a date, it’s something. Let me be excited for you, for fuck’s sake.”

Taako sighed. “All right, sorry, can we change the subject? Way too much potential for me to talk about feelings. I’m over it.”

“Ah, right, sorry, can’t have you emote more than twice a day,” Lup replied. 

“Do you have an idea for the date?” Magnus asked, “Or does he? I don’t actually know who asked who out, sorry.”

“I did,” Taako replied, trying to ignore Magnus’s little gasp in response. “Anyway, I was thinking just take him to the boardwalk and show him around. He’s apparently new and I guess he hasn’t had much time to check things out, because he’s a teacher and all. Does that sound okay?”

The three of them nodded their heads. “It’s classic, it’s perfect,” Julia replied, “I think the aquarium is getting redone, but it’s still open, if you’re interested.”

“Aw, yeah,” Taako replied, “We can check up on the seals that are there…”

“One seal,” Lup corrected.

“What?” Taako asked.

“Two of them died,” Lup replied, “Sorry, I thought you knew…”

“Is the little one still there?” Magnus asked, “I really like her…” 

“Yep. Blind as hell, but still swimming around,” Lup replied. She sighed and muttered, “Sorry… I went there as a date with Lucretia and Barry and found out while I was there. At least you’ll be prepared.” 

Taako pouted. “That’s such a bummer…” He pulled at one of his curls and sighed. “Anything else I need to know about?”

Lup hummed while Magnus tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair. “Be… yourself,” Magnus said, smiling goofily at Julia.

Julia snort-laughed as Lup and Taako rolled their eyes.

“I’m being serious here!” Magnus replied, “I dunno. Sometimes you do that thing where you try to be whatever people want you to be. Sometimes I don’t even think _I_ even get the real you. But I think if this guy cares about Angus and how he feels, you should probably be honest too.” 

Taako paused, glancing away. Then slowly, he smiled weakly and said “Thanks, Mags,”before he took another bite of his burger.

*

Taako walked out of the bank, tucking money in his pocket from his latest paycheck. He stopped at the front of the bank and sighed, taking out his phone and checking his messages. Sure enough, there was a text message from Kravitz. He smirked and opened up the message. It was simple enough- “Spoke with Angus. See you on Sunday” and capped it off with a smiley face. Taako replied with a tepid, “Nice,” before he shoved his phone in his bag and took a look at his surroundings. He only ended up at the bank roughly once every two weeks, so he was a bit slow on the uptake, but he only just realized that he was close to the school. As he watched a line of minivans and sensibly-sized sedans line up against the block that the school was at, he decided to walk over, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. 

He stood at the edge of the property, staring at the entrance. None of the parents were waiting outside with him, but he couldn’t help but think about the brief times he was able to go to elementary school. He and Lup never had anyone to pick them up, and it all seemed pretty excessive at the time. If they could figure out how to get home without getting hurt, surely these other kids should be able to. But that was the difference between kids with parents and kids who didn’t.

The bell rang and Taako held his breath, watching kids rush past him as they made their way to wherever they went. He wasn’t even sure if Angus was the type of kid who would leave when the bell rang. He was sure that he was in a bunch of clubs and probably was someone who was in high demand to run several of them.

He gave himself until the rush of students stopped pouring from the door. When it seemed to stop he was thankful that no one seemed bothered by him waiting. Wondering what he was even doing here at all, he gripped at the strap of his purse and turned on his heel, stopping short when he heard a chipper voice say, “Hello, sir!”

Taako looked down and saw Angus standing next to him, wearing a blue sweater and slacks. “What brings you here?” he asked, tilting his head, “I mean, not that I mind…”

“Don’t you have a bazillion clubs you should be running right now?” Taako asked.

Angus squinted at him for a brief moment, his lips pressed together for a long moment before he said, “Oh, no… for one, I’m a freshman. How could I have run for those positions? And as for the second reason, I try to get home early a few times a week, because I want to spend time with my grandfather.”

Taako slowly nodded. “Whatever,” he said, “Is it cool if I walk you home? I wanna pick at that little brain of yours.”

“Oh! Really? Thank you, sir,” Angus replied. He began walking presumably in the direction of his house, Taako following behind him. “I don’t know if I can bring you inside, but I wouldn’t mind company on the way home,” Angus added.

They walked away from the school, Angus always a slight step ahead to help lead. He seemed to live away from the shoreline, where the lawns still had decorative anchors and dolphin statues, but the houses were much larger than any of the ones in Taako’s part of the neighborhood. Angus eventually turned toward Taako and asked, “Are you walking me home, because of my conversation with Mr. Kravitz?”

Taako sighed, pushing his hair out of his face. He tried to set his hair to the side, keeping his hands in it for a long moment before he said, “Nothing gets passed you, does it, kid?”

Angus smirked, at least as much as he had the capacity to. Taako was ready to mock him, but he cut him off with, “I haven’t spoken much of my title as the world’s greatest detective, but I haven’t earned the title without my careful observation skills.” Angus stopped walking, looking down at his brown loafers for a long moment before he looked up at Taako and said, “It’s fine. The two of you going on a date, that is.”

“I don’t know if it’s…” Taako started, “Wait, did he call it a date?”

Angus giggled. “I mean, he didn’t use the word, but he began to stutter and stack papers on his desk, which is a nervous tick I noticed when he did when he was getting observed by the principal last month. So I assume that he has some kind of romantic intentions with this outing.” He brought his finger to the corner of his cheek and added, “I also considered your potential compatibility, which can’t be perfect, as I don’t know what Mr. Kravitz is like outside of school, but from my understanding you two could be a decent match.” He brought his finger down and his face notably shifted. “It would be especially good for Mr. Kravitz. He’s mentioned that he lives far away from his family.”

Taako was ready to make a snide remark about his own loneliness, until he realized that Angus would not accept it, seeing as though Magnus was so present whenever Angus was over for his training. 

“Well, what I’m getting at is, I approve!” Angus exclaimed. He began walking again and Taako followed closely behind. Thankfully, Angus seemed bored by the subject after that conversation, choosing to focus their conversations on the magic he was practicing and seeing if Taako had any advice concerning his technique. They finally stopped in front of a house, Angus facing it while he spun his backpack around and tried to fish for his home keys. 

Taako faced the house and tried to study the property. It was an older house, which was weird for the area. Most of the land was underdeveloped, the coastline solely occupied by clans of dwarves up until a few decades ago when there was a push to make it a tourist attraction. The house appeared perched on a hill, a rare sight considering its location to the shore. He assumed the hill was manmade, how or why he wasn’t entirely sure. The condition of the house looked decent enough, even if the lion statues at the front of the driveway were chipped and the planters set up leading up to the house were empty and cracked along the sides.

Angus yanked the keys out of his bag and raised it over his head. “Well, this is my stop!” he chirped, grinning.

“You good?” Taako asked, hoping Angus’s observation skills would understand the weight of the question.

Angus’s smile didn’t waver. “Yeah, I got this,” he replied, “See you on Saturday! I’ll wish you luck with Mr. Kravitz then.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Taako grumbled, “See you around, kid.”

Angus waved before he raced up the steps to his house. He unlocked the door and disappeared inside. Taako stayed in place for a long while, wondering if he could scope Angus out in one of the many windows arranged throughout the house. When it seemed unlikely, he checked his phone to figure out how to get home.

*

Kravitz decided that he wanted to pick him up, which was already unlike most of the dates Taako had ever went on, if he could consider any of his interactions with his past romantic conquests as such. The change in pace was nerve wracking, but the fact that he ran late from his shift at the diner was worse. He ran around his bedroom trying to figure out a perfect outfit that appeared effortless, even if it wasn’t. He’d never admit it, but Julia’s reorganization in his room was helpful, allowing him to find a pale pink skater dress with long sleeves and black bike shorts underneath. He put his hair in a sloppy bun, trying to ignore how it was still wet and he did his makeup in a way that looked simple, even though he was covered in layers of product. He finally ran out of the apartment, racing down the stairs to meet Kravitz, who was supposed to be parked at the curb.

When he looped around the corner, he was mortified to see Kravitz out of the car and standing in the middle of sidewalk with Julia, who had Steven sitting at her side on a leash. He took a deep breath and walked over, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Julia.

“I was just walking Steven,” Julia prefaced, waving the leash like some kind of trophy. 

Taako finally looked at Kravitz, who was wearing contacts today, but was still wearing a usual uniform of a black collared shirt and dark wash jeans. “Hey, sorry I’m late,” he said to Kravitz, trying to keep his tone less harsh.

Kravitz smiled. “It’s no problem!” he replied, “Julia was giving me the scoop about the teacher I replaced.” He swung his car keys around his fingers and asked, “Are you ready to go?”

“Oh, yeah, let’s leave,” Taako said. He waved at Julia, who smiled and mouthed, “Good luck” at him. 

Taako grimaced at her as he made his way to Kravitz’s car, which was an unassuming sedan. Kravitz opened the door for Taako before he took his own seat, waiting until they both closed the doors before he said, “Your sister-in-law is very kind.”

“Julia?” Taako asked, “You passed her aura test or however she gauges people’s character. Ole Magpie picked a winner with that one.”

Kravitz beamed, clearly not quite sure how to respond and started the car, pulling out of the driveway. “Do you know of any parking spaces that are cheaper than the ones behind the aquarium?”

Taako sighed. “Just park on the street, it’s free as long as you don’t mind the walk” he said. He drummed his fingers against the window of the car before realizing that it was pretty rude to smudge up a guy’s window minutes after the date started. “Have you, like, never gone to the beach?”

Kravitz bit the inside of his lip for a long moment before he said, “Most of my life I was in one of two places- sick in bed or in my school’s music room. I was kind of the one who ruined any and all vacation attempts.” He briefly took his eyes off the road to glance at Taako and said, “Oh but I’m better now! It just took forever finding a treatment plan that works, you know? Well, I’m not entirely sure if you do. I apologize for assuming.”

Taako raised his hand. “Yeah,” he said, “I do. Relax, dude.” He laughed. “Jeezy creezy, are you like this when you’re in front of your class?!”

“A lot of the time,” Kravitz confessed, “The students aren’t offended. At least that’s what they tell me. They’re also just really good kids.” He gasped when he saw a spot on the street, only to frown when he realized that it was due to a fire hydrant. “Julia said that she and your brother are alumni of the school I work at. Did you go elsewhere?”

Taako nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “My sister and me went to that county wizarding school a few towns over.” He pointed at another open spot and yelled, “I think that’s a spot!” before Kravitz zoomed forward.. He tried to line up his car and began to turn his head frantically, moving the car back and forth in an attempt to angle it correctly. He eventually lowered his head, asking, “Uh, you don’t happen to have any tips for parallel parking, do you?”

“Get out, I’ll do it,” Taako said. Kravitz got out, standing on the sidewalk to watch as Taako parked with ease. He got out, posing with his hands on his hips proudly. 

“Thank you,” Kravitz said. He brought his hands behind his back. “Uh, sorry if this is a rude question, but do you just not have a car?”

“Don’t really need it, I guess. Also can’t afford it,” Taako said, “I don’t have that good, good salary job like some people.”

Kravitz seemed like he was getting a bit overwhelmed trying to respond to Taako’s blunt nature and realizing that it was too much, he placed his hands around Kravitz’s arm, giggling when Kravitz seemed flustered by the action. 

At that point, Taako realized why he didn’t date at this point in his life. It seemed like he had simply too much baggage to just do it. Sure, Kravitz seemed to have his own tragic backstory from what he could infer, but it was easy to sympathize with. Being a sick kid with a lack of social interaction was good enough for a best seller list, maybe even a Fantasy Lifetime movie. Taako wasn’t the kind of person who had a story worth celebrating.

Taako tried to focus on Kravitz again. He could concede that Kravitz had to interested in dating as a concept, or else he wouldn’t be here. But her certainly couldn’t think to date multiple times, right? There’s no way that some nice teacher would want to be with him for longer than a date. So, might as well enjoy the view.

They walked to the boardwalk, neither of them saying anything. While it was still considered off season, many of the shops and games were open. Lights flashed and people passively announced that the games were open for new players. Taako led the way, stopping for a moment at the t-shirt display close to the entrance ramp that had a display full of customized hot pants. “We’re here!” Taako exclaimed, waving his hands around. “Welcome to the boardwalk, my adopted father’s babysitter of choice when we were younger.”

Kravitz snickered. “Right by the customizable booty shorts?” he asked, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Well, duh. He has a pair. Everyone knows Kenny Chesney owns his ass,” Taako replied. He put his hands on his hips and said, “I can show you the circuit Lup, Magnus, and I would do. If you’re interested.”

Kravitz brought his hand down and grinned. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “Yes! I would love that.”

“All right,” Taako said, “So, first place we have to go would be the aquarium.” Kravitz’s eyes lit up and Taako quickly added, “It’s kinda dinky. Don’t get too excited. Anyway, we would go there first, because your admission is good all day. Which is essential on really hot days.”

“Got it,” Kravitz replied. They walked to it, which was a half refurbished structure with a large wooden penguin bolted to the side of it. Taako reached to the entrance door as Kravitz pushed himself ahead, opening up the door to for him and still finding a way to beat Taako to the ticket. Taako scoffed as Kravitz smiled, stuffing the receipt in his pocket. They were then instructed to give the attendant their wrists, where they received a malformed blue dolphin stamp.

“You aren’t paying for everything,” Taako snapped as they walked through a hall meant to imitate a cave.

“I beg your pardon?” Kravitz asked.

“I have money,” Taako said, “Like, I live within my means. Don’t think that I’m some waitress who had to sell his car to make ends meet or anything.”

“I didn’t assume!” Kravitz exclaimed. He pulled at his collar nervously. “I just…” He looked around before he said, “I just wanted to. Make a gesture. You know?”

Taako nearly laughed. “Oh, right. Sorry.” He cleared his throat before he gestured toward the next exhibit. “Uh, let’s get going,” he said.

Thankfully, Kravitz willingly complied. They entered the next exhibit, which featured a tank filled with local fish. They stayed close to each other as they stared at the schools of large, silver fish, the creatures making vague eye contact with their onlookers as they looped around their enclosure. 

Taako tried to find the scene soothing, but his mind kept going back to the conversation he just had with Kravitz. It reminded him about how Lup mentioned that when she started dating Barry and Lucretia she got into a huge fight with them about them offering to cover her share of bills when she was in between jobs. Taako liked to believe that he didn’t have the capacity to be that proud. He liked being given things with minimal effort on his end. But there was something about Kravitz perceiving him as helpless that put him on edge.

He checked his nails, tempted to start picking at the silver polish he had put on it for the occasion. Kravitz bumped into him, pulling him away from his train of thought enough that he could hear Kravitz ask, “How did Angus do during your lesson yesterday?”

“Oh, Agnes?” Taako asked, “Uh, he did fine. He's’ got a decent handle on cantrips and we’re starting single spell slot stuff. Why?”

Kravitz tilted his head to one side before he said, “Oh, well… teacher thing, I guess. I know it sounds stupid, but I get really invested in all my students. You almost think of them as your kids, as weird as it may sound.” 

“I get it, I think,” Taako said, “I mean, I’ve never had a teacher see me as more than a magic user or a bad kid, but surely those inspirational teacher movies had to be based on _somebody_.”

“There’s _no such thing_ as a bad kid,” Kravitz said, his voice rigid. “Sure, there’s kids that are easier to get attached to… Angus, for example. But there’s always a reason for why kids are acting the way they do. Kids don’t just attack, just because they can.”

Taako crossed his arms, impulsively keeping his forearms toward himself, even though he was wearing sleeves. “I mean, maybe. But you’re, like, one educator out of thousands who buys into that.”

Kravitz faced him for a split second, and Taako was worried that Kravitz might have been able to figure out any aspect of his gloomy past. Thankfully, Kravitz jerked his head toward the exhibit across from them and said, “Oh! They have seals here!”

“Yeah,” Taako replied as they walked toward the tank. Just as they reached the glass, the seal blinked and floated up towards the surface. “We can get a better look upstairs,” Taako explained, grabbing Kravitz’s wrist and leading him up to the second floor, where they could spot the seal contently bobbing. 

“She’s blind,” Taako explained, gesturing toward her milky white eyes when they got closer to the “I think she’s always been. Lup, Magnus, and I used to go to the seal feedings here and they’d always tell her life story. There used to be two other seals with her.”

Kravitz pulled away to read a placard that was next to the display. He turned toward the seal again and said, “Oh, my condolences.”

Taako laughed. “I’m sure she’s fine. The people here spoil her, as far as I know.” He leaned against the railing that was along the exhibit. He dangled his arms off the rails, fiddling with a ring on one of his fingers. Kravitz joined him, his arms crossed. A staff member asked if they had any questions and Kravitz said no, continuing to stare at the seal while Taako reflected on a time before Lup met Barry and Lucretia and Magnus started dating Julia. 

The seal dipped below the surface again and Kravitz cleared his throat. Taako turned toward him as Kravitz said, ‘Uh, can we go back downstairs? I think I saw penguins and I… I dunno, I’m a bit of a fan.”

“Oh, yeah!” Taako exclaimed, “Sure, we can take a look!”

They went back downstairs and watched the penguins waddle along their enclosure. Kravitz appeared overjoyed at the sight of them, trying to decipher the names of each and every one of them based on the little bracelets on their fins. He even stuck his head in the domed window that allowed people to watch the penguins swim underwater. Taako found himself more absorbed in watching Kravitz as opposed to watching the penguins. Taako smirked and said, “This is why you’re able to survive as a teacher… you’re as big of a kid as your students.” 

Kravitz tried to retreat out of the dome but he misjudged the child-sized proportions and bonked his head. Taako stifled a giggle and outstretched his hand. Kravitz took it, allowing Taako to him to pull him up as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. 

“You might be onto something,” Kravitz muttered. He brushed off his shoulders and asked, “So what was the usual food stop on your boardwalk circuit?” 

Taako smirked. “I’ll show you,” he said. They left the aquarium and made their way through the gift shop before they were back on the boardwalk. “So it should be known that you usually walk the length of the boardwalk first. But let’s pretend that we did that already. You up for pizza?”

Kravitz nodded. “I mean, if you think that the place is any good.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Taako said, grinning, “It’s primo shore pizza.” He led Kravitz to a bright yellow stand. An older dwarf woman was behind the counter, spotting the two of them approaching the stand before she stood on a stool and grinned. “Hey, T!” she exclaimed, “It’s been awhile!”

“Hey, Alima,” Taako greeted. He gestured toward Kravitz and said, “Krav, this is Alima. She’s my adopted dad’s ex wife’s cousin.”

“Are you from one of the original dwarf clans that lived down here?” Kravitz asked. He quickly covered his mouth. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” he replied, “That was rude…”

Alima laughed. “Oh, my goodness. Taako, where did you find this guy? No, it’s not rude, dear. At least, I don’t find it to be. Yes, I come from one of those original clans.”

“Alima has been making pizza down here forever,” Taako added, “She’s one of the few people who have food on this boardwalk that I would actually vouch for.”

“Your feedback is always appreciated,” Alima replied, rolling her eyes. She winked at Kravitz and asked, “What are you into, handsome?”

“Oh, well, I like a lot of stuff… oh, uh. No food allergies, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I got you,” she said. She grabbed a slice and put it in the oven. “Your usual?” she asked Taako.

Taako nodded as Alima grabbed a slice of white pizza with what looked like some kind of sausage and peppers on it. Alima went back onto her stool and said, “Hekuba told me that Mavis has been hanging out with your new apprentice. I didn’t even know you were looking for one! How is that going?”

 

“It’s going fine,” Taako replied, “He’s a really good kid.”

“He is. I teach him,” Kravitz added.

“A _teacher_?!” she crowed, “Wow, Taako, you’re really going against your type, aren’t you?”

“Oh, shut up,” Taako snapped. The woman laughed, grabbing the slices and placing them on the counter. Taako unzipped his purse and Alima waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, “I’m just happy to see you around.”

“I mean, if you say so,” Taako replied, passing one of the slices over toward Kravitz. “See ya,” he added as Kravitz waved. They scoped out a bench and sat down next to each other, facing the ocean to watch waves crash against the shoreline. Kravitz looked down at his slice and back up. “She seems very friendly,” he noted.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, we’re an aggressive bunch. Especially anybody from Hekuba’s part of the family,” Taako replied. He took a bite from his pizza slice and chewed it.

“She also seemed genuinely surprised to see me with you,” Kravitz said, “Am I that far from your type?”

Taako swallowed and sighed. “I mean, I always wanted to bag the sensitive artist type. But in practice, I usually went for the… mean artist type.”

“Oh. My apologies,” Kravitz said.

“It is what it is,” Taako admitted, “I mean, am I even _your_ type?”

Kravitz pressed his lips together for a long moment. “To be honest? I don’t really get to date much. But I would assume that you are. I like people who are creative and have a really strong sense of self. So I guess you are.” Kravitz took a bite of his pizza and hummed for a brief moment. “I also have to be with people who at least tolerate kids.” He smiled and said, “Angus is incredibly fond of you. I hope you know that.”

Taako smirked. “Angus is probably fond of smelly garbage and bug bites. It’s nothing special.”

Kravitz snorted. “I mean, true. But he is _also_ very happy about your apprenticeship. We talk after class sometimes.”

Taako ate more of his pizza, watching the ocean waves crash several times before he asked, “Do you know anything about his family life? Like, what’s up with his grandpa?”

Kravitz sighed. “No,” he said, “I tried calling because he didn’t come to one of our open houses, but I left a message and never got a call back. It doesn’t sound like his subject teachers had any luck, either. But they don’t seem too bothered, because he’s such a good student.” Kravitz dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “Have you been able to make any contact?”

Taako shook his head. “I mean, I have his signature on a contract, but fuck knows if it’s his.” he sighed. “I walked past the house and the place was in okay condition.”

“Taako,” Kravitz said, hi voice suddenly grave. “Can you promise me something?”

Taako swallowed hard. He cleared his throat and said, “I need to know what you’re asking me first.”

Kravitz sighed. “If you have any reason… _any_ kind of reason… to suspect that he is being abused or neglected, you need to tell me or call child protective services.” He leaned in closer toward Taako and added, “ _Please_ , promise me. It’s my legal duty.”

Takko sighed, staring out toward the ocean. “They system isn’t necessarily a great solution, Krav.”

“I mean, he might actually be given to you, if there’s no other kin. The law views apprenticeships quite favorably.”

Taako couldn’t conceal his displeasure. “Woah, woah, _I’m_ not a great solution either, Kravitz. I can teach a kid weekly. But I don’t think I have the space for a teenager.”

Kravitz pressed his lips together for a long moment, taking a bite from his pizza before he said, “Well, regardless of your capacity, you need to report it. Or offer the information to me. Understood?”

Taako watched several waves crash along the shore before he said, “You still wanna see me after this shitshow of a date?”

Kravitz laughed. “Maybe my standards are a bit low, but I would hardly consider this date a failure.”

“Good to know,” Taako said. He still didn’t buy it, but it was nice to be given lip service sometimes. “Wanna walk the boardwalk after this?”

“Yeah, sure!” Kravitz exclaimed. 

They finished their pizza and began to walk along the boardwalk in relative silence. Occasionally, they would lean in toward each other, whispering their observations of the people surrounding them. Taako was relieved that the boardwalk was filled with a lot of genuinely happy memories for him. He recalled the time that the entire family got food poisoning from a new beach bar that mysteriously up and disappeared the next season. They were all laid out for two days, but even then there was a fucked up camaraderie about the whole thing. As Taako tried to not laugh about the memory, they passed by one of the few genuinely decent beach bars, which was currently featuring a cover band struggling through “Uptown Funk.” Kravitz stopped in front of the building, his nose scrunched, but his face all smiles.

“You think you could do better?’ Taako asked. 

Kravitz shrugged. “I mean, yeah,” he admitted, “At the very least, I’d pick a song in my range.” Regardless, his foot was noticeably tapping to the beat. 

Taako smirked, smoothly lacing his fingers into Kravitz’s and sighed “Sure, sure, anyway care to dance?,” and pulled him along toward the stage without waiting for an answer. 

Even Taako felt a little embarrassed by the brazen gesture, but he quickly shoved that aside and plowed forward, spinning to face Kravitz when they reached the dance floor. 

Kravitz was noticeably flustered, but thankfully it seemed that he knew how to dance and it didn’t take long for the two to match each other’s rhythms. 

As Taako swayed to the music, his thoughts began to wander. He found himself caught up in how good of a dancer Kravitz was. It should have been predictable, seeing as though he was a music teacher, but it still surprised Taako. When he willed himself to look into Kravitz’s eyes, he found himself transfixed on how beautiful his dark eyes were, even if they were obscured by his glasses. Taako bit the inside of his lip, finally willing himself to admit that he was absolutely attracted to him.

The two of them danced, and to Taako’s immense delight, he could hear Kravitz singing along under his breath. 

“You ever do karaoke?” Taako asked, smirking again when Kravitz gave him a sheepish look.

“I mean, I would if I had a group of friends,” he replied, “I moved in, like, a week before the school year started, so I really haven’t had enough time to network. Why?”

“I do it twice a month with my family. We bond that way, I guess.” 

“That sounds like a great way to bond. I can’t imagine having my family do that,” Kravitz confessed, twirling Taako as the beat reached a crescendo.

Taako smiled, and tried to not entirely regret revealing this information. It’s not like Kravitz was ever going to go out and do karaoke with his family. Even if Kravitz said he’d go out on another date, he knew by now that what people said was rarely what they did. People didn’t actually stick around for Taako. At least not nice people, like Kravitz. It wasn’t that the nice people were outwardly malicious. He was too much, and Taako understood that. He was familiar with the gradual pattern of excuses for missed plans, to unanswered texts. 

Kravitz pulled Taako closer as the song shifted to a ballad. It was definitely something Merle listened to, but Taako couldn’t remember the name. Sure, Kravitz’s eyes looked outwardly fond, but that didn’t mean that Kravitz was going to be able to maintain that fondness. 

“I hate this song,” Taako snapped. Kravitz didn’t seem rattled, saying, “Eh, it’s not the best.” He dropped his arms, finding Taako’s hands to clasp instead. “Sorry, but uh, I have to go kind of soon. So, um - how did you usually close out your trip?”

“We’d get ice cream,” Taako replied.

Kravitz grinned. “That’s a great idea,” he said.

Taako led Kravitz to the ice cream stand. On line, Kravitz kept apologizing about needing to end their date early, explaining that he had to finish up his lesson plans.

“It’s cool,” Taako replied, “You gotta get that teacher of the year nomination.”

“Oh, well, you need to get tenured before you can even be nominated, if my memory serves me right,” Kravitz murmured. He smiled nervously and added, “But in all seriousness, it’s been a really nice afternoon. Thank you.”

“Sure. It’s been nice,” Taako said. He gestured toward the board of flavor combinations that was bolted to the stand. “Uh, well, there’s some choice flavor combos. I can give you recommendations, but it’s really all up to you. It’s cash only, but lucky you I planned for this, so I can pay for the both of us.”

Kravitz read up and down the sign and excitedly ordered an orange and vanilla swirl when he got to the front of the line. Taako ordered mint and they found another bench to sit at, continuing to stare out toward the ocean as they ate.

“We should plan our next date,” Kravitz suggested.

Taako turned toward him, tilting his head. “You don’t have to be polite about this whole thing,” he said, “If you want us to be a one and done type of deal, we can.”

Kravitz narrowed his eyes briefly and said, “Uh, no? I don’t want it to be that way. I liked today. I like you. Unless _you_ aren’t interested. Which is totally fine.”

“I… am,” Taako admitted, “Sorry. That sounded like I’m not interested. I’m just new to the whole dating thing.”

“I’ll have to think of the next spot,” Kravitz said, pensively licking his ice cream. “Hm… is there a good cafe?”

Taako shrugged. “There’s a record store that’s also a cafe type of deal? Figured that might be what you’re into. They even have open mics, if you’re feeling ballsy.”

Kravitz snorted. “I mean, I’ll probably have my fair share of opinions on the performers. But I have a feeling you wouldn’t want to pass that up.”

Taako smirked. “You’re correct. Just don’t make fun of my brother if he goes on. It’s only funny when I do that.”

“Fair enough,” Kravitz said, taking a careful bite from his cone and added, “Maybe a night this week? I’m free on Wednesday nights.”

“I’ll check my schedule,” Taako said, “But sure.” He smiled and only smiled wider when Kravitz returned the gesture. It took him several moments to realize that he was so focused on Kravitz the entire time, he didn’t even realize that he had ice cream melting down his arm.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, well! We're back! Long story short- I was working short term, stressful jobs and my editor was doing school stuff. Here's another chapter lovingly edited by Gwyn. I hope it was worth the wait!
> 
> **Trigger Warnings:** Brief mentioning of self harm scars

Time moved differently for Taako when he was with Angus and Kravitz. For one, he was just doing _more _. He was now often occupied with spell books he hadn’t touched in years, or even structuring lesson plans with concrete goals for Angus to meet for upcoming lessons. And at least once a week he found himself at the local coffee shop or the dumpling house or wherever Kravitz decided that he wanted to check out for a date. Which was still a new feeling.__

__Dating was nice. At least, it was nice enough for him to continue doing it with Kravitz. There were times that he thought about doing more- asking if they’d like to make it more official or at the very least invite him back to his place-but when opportunity came, he’d always rationalize it away and find an excuse out of it. . And whenever Kravitz said that he needed to go home, he never pushed it further._ _

__But hey, he was dating. He had a brilliant apprentice. And it was summertime. This would usually equate to happiness right? Right._ _

__The summer festival was happening in two days and Lup dragged him to go with her to get supplies. As she yanked a cart out from the row at the front of the store, she asked, “Are you bringing Angus?”_ _

__Taako jumped onto the rail at the bottom of the cart and shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t think he was invited.”_ _

__“He’s your apprentice. Of course he’s invited.” She pushed the cart with little hesitation, checking the shopping list on her phone._ _

__“You have, like, a zillion apprentices.”_ _

__“Yeah, but that’s different,” Lup said, waving her phone before she stopped in front of a variety of produce. She inspected some celery before she added, “I don’t get that good, good one-on-one time with them like you do.”_ _

__Taako sighed, reaching toward a carton of strawberries and tossing them in the cart. “I mean, I can text him,” he said. He kept one hand stable on the cart while he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He texted a curt message to Angus, who replied instantly with a flourish of emojis. Taako groaned as he slipped his phone back in his pocket._ _

__“So he’s coming,” Lup said, smiling impishly._ _

__“Yeah, guess so,” Taako mumbled._ _

__Lup resumed inspecting the produce before she bagged everything and put it in the cart. “What does Angus like to eat?” she asked, beginning to push the cart again._ _

__“Ren gives him waffle fries, like, every damn Saturday. She doesn’t even make him pay.”_ _

__“Well, you know why that is,” Lup replied. She stopped at the drink aisle, inspecting the price tags. “Even though she’s the one signing your checks, she still sees you as Taako from TV. At least, to a certain extent.”_ _

__“Yeah, well, he’s been dead for a long fucking time,” Taako grumbled. Lup turned toward him, her eyes narrowed before he nearly fell off the cart. “Not in _that way_ ,” he said, “I’m just saying that there’s no way I’m ever going back to that life.”_ _

__Lup sighed, grabbing several armfuls of soda before she tossed them in the cart. “Really?” she asked, “You’re not getting that feeling of, like, wanting to sling spells with Angus?”_ _

__Taako shook his head. “Nah. Mostly, he just reminds me of you. He works so hard it doesn’t even matter if he has raw talent or not.” He tilted his head. “So… am I getting that Fantasy Kitchenaid Standing Mixer or…”_ _

__Lup began to push the cart again, pressing her lips together, “Hm… what spell slot level is he at?” she asked._ _

__“Two,” Taako said, quickly shaking his head. “No, no, I mean 8000. He’s the best wizard ever in terms of skills, but will never surpass me in looks.”_ _

__Lup laughed. “Not yet,” she said, “Get him to _at least_ third level spells before we discuss the gift.”_ _

__Taako huffed. “Unbelievable,” he snapped, “Is your goal to just regift one someone inevitably gifts you whenever the fuck you and Barry are getting married?”_ _

__Lup sighed, her eyes looking down at the ring on her finger. “That’s not a bad plan,” she murmured, smirking. She shook her head and made eye contact with Taako again. “Oh, back to food. I know you said Angus likes waffle fries, but do you know anything else?”_ _

__“I mean, he was really into Magnus’s baked ziti,” Taako noted, “So the bar is set pretty low.”_ _

__“Look, give him a break, that’s the only dish he can make that’s any good,” Lup pointed out. She hummed and said, “Oh, what if I make him a little mocktail? How cute would that be?”_ _

__“I mean, weird, but sure,” Taako replied._ _

__Lup flexed before she turned the cart around, claiming that she had to go back to the produce area to grab some raspberries._ _

__*_ _

__Magnus and Julia happily offered to pick Angus up for the Summer Festival. Unfortunately, that meant that their car was essentially filled with capacity, complete with Julia and Magnus in the front and Taako in the middle seat next to a drooling Steven, who was contently locked in next to him wearing his doggie seatbelt._ _

__Taako attempted to take selfies with his camera, though every attempt was abysmal. Between Steven’s ear appearing in one corner and Julia reaching out to make peace signs when she thought he wasn’t looking, nothing was coming out quite how he wanted._ _

__“Trying to send a pic to your _boyfriend_?” Julia asked, pouting her lips mockingly._ _

__Taako sighed loudly. “Not my boyfriend,” he said, tilting his head in a different angle to see if it would help the picture at all. He groaned and fluffed up his hair before he attempted to take another picture using the same angle._ _

__“Why not?” Magnus asked, poking his eyes in the dashboard mirror before he started the car._ _

__Taako accidentally took a picture of himself glaring at Magnus’s reflection. “Can’t a person go out on dates with another person and not put _labels_ on it?”_ _

__Magnus looked away from the mirror, but Taako knew that he was rolling his eyes. “Call me old fashioned, but from the way you’re not talking about him, it sounds a lot like there’s a lot more going on than _just_ that.”_ _

__Taako glowered, flipping through his gallery of selfie options for a few breaths before he said, “I mean, I like him, but it’s not like we’re meant to be. He doesn’t know, like, any of my tragic backstory and once he does, he’ll bounce. You’ve both known me long enough to know that’s what happens every time.”_ _

__“I don’t get the vibe,” Julia said._ _

__“You talked to him for five minutes _max_ ,” Taako said. He stopped at one of his earlier selfies. He was making a decent face, considering there was a blurry Steven hovering over his shoulder. He messaged it to Kravitz with a caption that read, “Wish you were here!” before he put his phone in his bag._ _

__“I mean, he’s a teacher who gets that his students need love and support,” Julia said, “Why wouldn’t that lead to his treatment of his significant others?”_ _

__Taako stared at her, even though she wasn’t facing him. “You’re shitting me, right?” he asked, “Sure, he’s compassionate and patient to teenagers, but they’re tossed into his class and stuck with him for a year, maybe four if they give a shit about music. It’s not permanent. They can be fucked up, but they won’t be in his life forever.”_ _

__Magnus seemed to bristle at that comment, stopping at a light before he said, “I mean, I’m gonna be blunt right now, but hasn’t he seen your arms? Like, surely he can fill in the blanks and realize you’ve been through _something_.”_ _

__“Oh, I’ve had them covered anytime we hung out,” Taako replied._ _

__Magnus’s shoulders still seemed too high for him to be relaxed by that comment. “Do you…” he started, “I mean… have you not gotten…”_ _

__“Have you even kissed?” Julia asked, turning herself around to make eye contact with Taako._ _

__“Not seriously,” Taako replied, opting to stare at his phone, flipping through pages of apps. “Like, quick pecks and stuff. But I haven’t invited him back home and he usually has to go to bed too early, so he never offers, either.”_ _

__“Do you want to?” Julia asked. Taako glanced up and Julia covered her mouth before she said, “Oh! Not wanting to reveal tragic backstory… inevitable conversation… got it.” She slammed her hand on the arm of her seat. “Jeez, Taako, this guy’s got more patience than I thought.”_ _

__Magnus stopped in front of Angus’s house and hissed, “We're not done talking about this.” He looked ready to add something else, but Angus was already knocking on the window excitedly. Magnus unlocked the door and Angus tumbled inside, quickly wrapping his arms around Taako. Taako huffed as Steven tried to shove his face between them. Angus broke the hug to pet Steven and try to hug Magnus and Julia as best as he could while still sitting in his seat. He buckled himself in and swung his legs excitedly before he turned toward Taako again and stared him up and down._ _

__“What?” Taako asked, adjusting the white crocheted coverup he had on._ _

__“Oh! Pardon me for staring, sir! You just have an interesting bathing suit on, is all!” Angus exclaimed._ _

__Taako posed. He had a bright one piece on that seemed to glow under the coverup. It was definitely Lup’s at one point, but he borrowed it and decided that he liked it too much to give it back to her. “This isn’t a problem, is it?” he snapped._ _

__“Oh, no, sir!” Angus exclaimed, “I’m just… always very fascinated by your fashion choices. I thought perhaps it was related to you being an elf, but I’ve realized that it’s all your own.”_ _

__Taako squinted at him for a long moment before he realized that he had a very similar conversation when Magnus started living with him. “Ah. This is just me.” Taako said, “I’m not a guy or a girl or anything. I thought you already figured that out, boy detective.”_ _

__“I had my observations, but sometimes it’s best to just hear it from the source,” Angus explained. He smiled nervously at Steven and asked, ‘So who am I meeting today? Mavis wasn’t entirely sure of the guest list either.”_ _

__Magnus started the car and began driving toward the party. He piped in and said, “You’re meeting the immediate family, Ango! Which is all of us, Mavis and Mookie, our dad, and you’ll get to meet Lup.”_ _

__“Oh! I get to meet your sister?!” Angus exclaimed, “I’m so excited!”_ _

__“Yeah,” Magnus replied, “She can’t wait to meet you, either. You’ll also meet her… uh… well, she has a fiance, Barry, and… Lucretia… who’s…hmm.”_ _

__Julia lightly placed her hand on Magnus’s shoulder and said, “Angus, sweetie, have you ever heard of the word ‘polyamory?’”_ _

__“Oh, yes! We’ve discussed the term in history class and from my understanding, a few of the students at my school have family structures like that.” He pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose before he asked, “So Lup, Barry, and Lucretia are in a similar relationship?”_ _

__“Yup. Like, I said, you’re meeting the immediate family,” Magnus said, nodding his head toward Julia before she lifted her hand off his shoulder._ _

__They arrived at the townhouses, the beach along one of the rows having a sign near it that read that the beach was reserved for the day. When they got past the dunes, they could feel the cool air on their skin. With the clouds still rather grey, it was obvious that the weather had little regard for the festivity. But the beach was still ready for a party, complete with a grill and a tent that had a cozy furniture setup underneath it._ _

__The water was also still being used, complete with boats dotting the horizon line. A few people scoped them out from under the tent, some of them Lup’s coworkers who hung toward the tent while Lup scrambled from the circle of people she was chatting with and dashed across the sand, throwing her arms around Taako and Magnus. She gave them a tight hug before she let go of them to kiss Julia on the cheek. They giggled, whispering something to each other before she bent down and reached out her hand, saying, “Lup Taaco.”_ _

__“Angus McDonald,” Angus replied, giving her a hearty handshake. “I’ve heard _so much_ about you.”_ _

__“Oh yeah?” she asked, pushing the front of her hair back. “Good things, I hope?”_ _

__“Oh, absolutely!” he exclaimed, “Some of your students go to school with me and they say nothing but good things. Taako even says that you’re one of the most dedicated wizards he’s ever known!”_ _

__Lup grinned wickedly at Taako. “Does he now?” she asked._ _

__“Oh, yes!” Angus added, “I know by now that he doesn’t give compliments easy, so when I do hear one, I know that it is the absolute truth.”_ _

__Lup refused to stop grinning, even though she focused her eye contact back on Angus. “Don’t I know it,” Lup replied, “I’m the one who had to grow up with him.”_ _

__“You made it!” a voice exclaimed. Everyone turned toward it, watching Mavis racing over with Mookie stumbling in her wake. He threw himself forward, cutting Mavis off and tackling Angus._ _

__He dropped to the ground, flailing as Mookie pinned him. “So you’re Angus!” Mookie exclaimed._ _

__Angus nodded, trying to squint through his crooked frames. “Y-es!” he exclaimed, “That I am!”_ _

__Mookie crowed, “Welcome to the family!” before sliding off of him and sitting next to Angus in the sand. He watched Angus try to sit up and straighten out his glasses before he asked,”How are you supposed to be a wizard if you can’t take a hit?”_ _

__Angus finally got his glasses on straight again before he said, “I don’t really know offensive spells.”_ _

__“That’s more my specialty, remember sweets?” Lup asked, pinching Mookie’s side. Mookie squealed, flailing toward her. Lup indulged him for a moment before she reached out and yanked Angus up, dusting sand off of him. “Let me introduce you to everyone. Sound good?”_ _

__Taako felt himself slump his shoulder out of relief, turning away from the group to check his phone. Sure enough, Kravitz had responded, sending him a picture of his feet propped up on a windowsill, the view washed out by the sunlight. “Wish I was there, too” was the caption._ _

__Taako glanced back at the group, who was making their way toward the tent before he hugged his phone closer to himself and walked out toward the nearby dock, which was thankfully unoccupied. He sat on one of the creaky wooden benches that was set on the edge of it, sending a request to video chat. Kravitz appeared within a few rings, the screen blurry as he tried to adjust himself to a more comfortable position._ _

__“I thought you were excited to see your family,” Taako said, checking how he looked in the thumbnail._ _

__“I was,” Kravitz confessed, “But then I remembered _why_ I didn’t mind taking a job so far away.” He brought his hand under his chin and sighed. “They’re just _so_ noisy… how are you doing?”_ _

__“Just made it to my sister’s shindig,” he replied, “Angus got pummeled by my baby brother.”_ _

__Kravitz raised his eyebrows. “Intentionally?” he asked._ _

__“Uh, I mean, he literally tackles anyone and everyone. It’s just the way it is.”_ _

__“And this is… Mavis’s little brother, correct?”_ _

__“Yeah. He’s not in high school yet. But don’t worry. He’ll be there soon enough. And you’ll be miserable.”_ _

__Kravitz giggled. “I’ll put him in percussion. Easy peasy.” He looked away for a long moment, as if he was already trying to come up with a plan to approach Mookie._ _

__“You got brought up,” Taako noted. He resisted grinning when Kravitz looked back at the screen._ _

__“I did?” Kravitz asked, tilting his head._ _

__“Yeah. The whole what are we and all that nonsense.”_ _

__Kravitz natural smile faltered._ _

__“What?” Taako asked._ _

__“I mean, I wouldn’t call what we are doing nonsense…” he started._ _

__Taako waved his hand, making sure the motion was obvious enough on screen. “Shit word choice,” he said, “Sorry about that.” He looped the motion into himself fluffing his hair, making sure it didn’t look flat on Kravitz’s end. “They were really into the idea of us having a label. That’s all.”_ _

__“I mean, I wouldn’t mind that,” Kravitz said, his voice soft._ _

__Taako felt his stomach drop. “How so?” he asked._ _

__“We’ve been going on dates for about a month now. This isn’t exactly the best way to ask, but would you have an interest in… I dunno… being boyfriends? Or partners. I don’t know what terms you prefer.”_ _

__“Either or,” Taako replied, nearly shaking his head when he realized what he had implied. “I mean, Krav, don’t get me wrong. You’re great, it’s just… I haven’t had a proper boyfriend in, like, ever.”_ _

__“Me either!” Kravitz exclaimed, laughing weakly, “I know I may not always be the best for you. But I know I’ll always try to be.”_ _

__Taako winced. He couldn’t confess to him that he was offering all he could ask for. It would probably make him come off way too desperate for affection, even if he definitely was. “Can I think about it?” he asked, trying to ignore how Kravitz’s face fell at the news. “I’m _not_ doing the fade away on you! I just need to think about it.”_ _

__“That’s fine!” Kravitz replied. His smile was weak, but it was there. It still found a way to make Taako’s chest flutter the slightest bit. “Are we still on for Tuesday?”_ _

__Taako hummed under his breath, trying to file through his memories. They were supposed to meet up at the usual cafe they went to after the school day. “Yeah, of course,” he replied._ _

__“Excellent!” Kravitz’s smile was back to its usual level. If Taako sounded subdued at all, he didn’t say anything about it. “Have a good summer festival?”_ _

__“You, too,” Taako said, hanging up on him unceremoniously. When he looked up from his phone, he saw Magnus leaning against a piling, watching him._ _

__“What? Is Angus looking for me?” Taako asked._ _

__“Angus is having a blast getting tackled by Mookie,” Magnus said, “Although, Lucretia is so in love with the kid, she might try to make him _her_ apprentice. He looked down at his feet and toed gently at a nail sticking out from the plank underneath him._ _

__Taako sighed. Magnus presented himself as a tough guy who resolved things through screaming or punching. It wasn’t necessarily true, especially with when he tried to resolve things relating to Taako. It was always with a soft voice and deliberate instances of eye contact._ _

__“Don’t turn this into an inspirational speech,” Taako growled._ _

__Magnus raised his hands. “I just wanted to know if you wanted a hot dog or a hamburger. That’s all. I just caught the tail end of the conversation and figured I’d remind you that I’m here.”_ _

__Taako huffed. “I mean, do you think I’m in any position to have an adult relationship thrown into my responsibilities?”_ _

__Magnus shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t think the whole taking on a mentor thing was the best idea, but it’s proven otherwise. And, like, it’s not that I think you can or can’t do things. I just want to be here to problem solve.”_ _

__Taako rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “I’m not giving him the tragic backstory speech.”_ _

__“I mean, I don’t think you’re obligated to.”_ _

__“Actually?”_ _

__“I mean… it’s in the past. You haven’t been that version of yourself in awhile. And, like. He’s your boyfriend. Not a doctor. So, who gives a shit?”_ _

__Taako gestured with his arms, making sure his forearms were visible._ _

__“Oh? The scars and shit?” Magnus asked. Taako rolled his eyes, but Magnus kept going, saying, “I mean, two options, right? Either you blame it on working in the kitchen for years or you say you had shit coping mechanisms growing up.” Magnus was quiet for a long moment before he said, “Also, can I just say something? _Fuck him_ if he can’t deal with that. He probably has, like, a shitton of students who are dealing with that, too.”_ _

__“Good point,” Taako said, getting up from the bench._ _

__“Wanna go back?” Magnus asked, “Because if we stay here any longer, Lup will want to join us.”_ _

__“Well, I gotta get my food order in,” Taako said. Magnus grinned, leaning in to hug him. Taako apprehensively hugged back, gasping when Magnus picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder. Taako attempted pushing against him, Magnus shaking his head and gripping tighter. When Taako realized he was stuck he crossed his arms and huffed dramatically, even though he had no interest in trying to squirm out of his grasp._ _

__*_ _

__Summer festivities traditionally ended with a bonfire. There were usually certain rituals that were supposed to come with it to wish for a happy summer, but no one in the group cared to observe them aside from Merle, who whispered whatever spells and dropped random pieces of leaves into the fire. Taako chose to sit on the same towel that Lup, Lucretia, and Barry were set up on as Angus pulled a folding chair next to him._ _

__“You have fun?” Taako asked, ruffling Angus’s hair. He snorted when a dusting of sand came off his curls. “I feel like I haven’t seen you at _all_ today?”_ _

__“I was having fun!” he exclaimed, “Though… does Mookie ever get tired?”_ _

__Taako shook his head. “Nah,” he replied, “It’s just the way he is.”_ _

__Angus took a deep breath. “Oh,” he said, “Okay… well, thank you for inviting me!”_ _

__Taako looked up at the boy, affectionately bonking his hand against his head. When he returned to his sitting position, he turned toward Lup and saw her staring at him, her face unreadable._ _

__As the fire began to taper off, Magnus collected the group back into his car, trying to shove Steven back into the car while Taako said goodbye to Lup. They hugged, but Lup didn’t seem to have any commentary, keeping her hand on his shoulder when the hug ended._ _

__“Yeah?” Taako asked, putting his hands on his hips._ _

__She just smiled and said, “Later, nerd,” before she returned to the dying bonfire._ _

__*_ _

__“Have you given any thought to our conversation?” Kravitz asked between sips of his coffee._ _

__Taako looked up, the jewelry on his wrists and on his neck jangling with the sudden movement._ _

__“I should be more specific,” Kravitz amended, “Have you thought about the conversation we had concerning us becoming a couple? Just curious.”_ _

__Taako took a deep breath. “Right,” he said. He brought his fingers to his lips, not even caring that he was smearing his lipstick in the process. He was grateful that the coffee house was packed tonight, if only so their conversation could blend in with everyone else’s. “I mean, yeah,” he said, unable to make eye contact, “Sure. Let’s do it.”_ _

__Kravitz blinked several times. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “Really? You’re sure?”_ _

__“Yeah,” Taako said, finally looking up, “Is that a problem?”_ _

__“Not at all!” Kravitz replied, “I was kind of ready for you to call it off… you seemed a little. I don’t know. Spacy?”_ _

__“Sorry about that, babe,” Taako replied. Kravitz seemed to light up hearing the pet name. “Got my mind on a lot of things. None of which are your fault, by the way.”_ _

__“Is there anything I can do to help, at least?” Kravitz asked._ _

__Taako shook his head. “Nah. Just keep being your sweet self.”_ _

__Kravitz covered his cheek, his smiling becoming more dreamy before he looked down at the papers he was supposed to be grading. He grabbed his pen and resumed it, silence between the two of them once more._ _

__Taako took a deep breath, looking down at his wrists, twisting in a way that a particularly large burn poked out between the bangles. “You wanna stop by tonight?” he asked, “Like, come inside? We can, I dunno. Watch a movie. Not have my budget go out the window, because Johann bleeds me dry with these prices.”_ _

__Kravitz looked up from the test he was currently covering in purple ink. “You sure?” Kravitz asked. Taako nodded his head for emphasis. Kravitz replied, “That would be great.”_ _

__“Let’s go, then,” Taako said, “We can at least get a short movie in if we hurry up.”_ _

__Taako led the charge to get the back home, though inside he was buzzing with anxiety. Was it even possible to have a boyfriend for less than twenty-four hours? There were probably people who timed worse than him, but the scenario would definitely go down in the annals of family history._ _

__Kravitz parked the car a house away and they made their way toward Taako’s apartment. The lights were on at Julia and Magnus’s, but they seemed too wrapped up in their laptops to even notice them walking across the picture window they were sitting near. As they made it up to Taako’s apartment, Kravitz paused to admire the herb garden. He ran his fingers over some of the leaves, placing his fingers under his nose and sniffing them._ _

__“My sister does the same damn thing,” Taako noted. Kravitz continued sniffing, though he was smiling now. Taako unlocked the door and let him inside._ _

__The apartment was relatively organized, but it was nowhere near as pristine as when Julia and Magnus cleaned it. The garbage needed to be taken out and there were a few bowls that were left on the coffee table. Kravitz didn’t seem to mind, speeding toward a poster that was hanging on the wall._ _

__“Who’re the Powerbears?” Kravitz asked._ _

__“They’re my brother’s old punk band,” Taako replied._ _

__“Ah,” Kravitz said, “That’s so cool… is he still in the music scene or…”_ _

__“There really isn’t much of one out here, so not right now,” Taako replied, “You’d probably get along with him. He can play a zillion instruments and all that.”_ _

__Kravitz turned around, clapping his hands together excitedly. Taako’s chest began to ache._ _

__In truth, Kravitz would fit in perfectly with his family. He would love all his siblings and even Barry and Lucretia would probably get a kick out of him._ _

__It hurt operating as if it was very possible that Kravitz was going to be out of the picture by the end of the night. But it’d probably hurt less than when he broke up with him for whatever thing that pushed him too far._ _

__So Taako figured he’d go for it, leaning in and kissing him with full force. Kravitz kissed back, only to quickly break contact to asked, “A-are you sure? I just want to…”_ _

__“ _Yes_ I’m sure,” Taako growled, continuing to kiss him. He bit at his lower lip with his teeth as Kravitz squawked, though he did not pull away. He tried to angle Taako toward the couch, where they stumbled over a side table and fell across it. Taako leaned in to regain control when he felt his phone buzz in his jacket pocket. He shoved Kravitz away in the process of fishing it out of his pocket and Kravitz backed off, watching carefully. He attempted to fix his crooked glasses and rumpled collar shirt._ _

__Taako checked the phone and his eyes widened. “It’s Angus,” he said, sliding to accept the call. He brought the phone to his ear and said, “ _What_ , kid?”_ _

__“Hello, sir!” Angus greeted, though there was something dulled about his tone. “Uh, are you busy?”_ _

__Taako locked eyes with Kravitz as he said, “No.”_ _

__“Oh! Well, I’m in a bit of trouble. My grandfather went to the hospital. I’d be home alone and I was just wondering… if I could stay with you? You can say no.”_ _

__Taako kept eye contact with Kravitz as he sighed. “Yeah, pumpkin,” he said, “It’ll be a tight squeeze, but I think we can manage.”_ _

__“Oh, thank you, sir,” Angus said, “Could you have Mr. Magnus or Ms. Julia pick me up? I’m at the hospital in Cherry Quay and I’m not really able to walk there.”_ _

__Taako muttered the location to himself, trying to remember the name of the hospital. “Can do,” he eventually said, “Be there soon.” He hung up before he could hear for Angus’s response._ _

__“I can drive you,” Kravitz said before Taako could even explain the situation._ _

__“Isn’t it a liability to drive a student?” Taako asked._ _

__“Not sure,” Kravitz confessed, “I’ll just drive carefully, I guess.”_ _

__Taako weighed his options and shrugged. “Sure,” he replied, “Let’s get going.”_ _

__They returned to the car, driving out to the hospital. Luckily, it wasn’t the hospital that Taako’s family went to. They drove around until they found a pick up area, where Angus was sitting on a bench. He looked confused at the sight of Kravitz being there, but he didn’t push further than saying, “Oh, I didn’t expect to see you Mr. Kravitz.”_ _

__Taako let Angus get inside and settled before he asked, “Did you get change of clothes or anything?”_ _

__“I need to get them,” Angus said, “My grandfather’s nurse said he’ll be here for at least the night.” He sighed, hugging himself before he added, “I’m sorry… I didn’t have anybody else I could call…”_ _

__“It’s fine,” Takao replied._ _

__“You made the right decision,” Kravitz added. Taako felt his cheeks warm up, but he hoped the odd lighting would hide it._ _

__Angus got his things at his house and they made their way back to Taako’s apartment. He quietly set up the couch with sheets and a pillow, rubbing his hands when he was done. “It’s no frills, but hopefully it’ll be good enough for a night or two.”_ _

__Angus seemed content enough, flopping across the couch the second Taako walked away from it. Kravitz began to slowly edge toward the door. “Be right back, kiddo,” Taako said, nearly tossing Kravitz out with him, sitting on the steps and waiting for Kravitz to join him. They were quiet for a long moment, Kravitz grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly before he whispered, “I don’t know what I should be doing. I’m sorry.”_ _

__“I got this,” Taako said. It was definitely a lie, but it was obvious that Kravitz wasn’t going to be able to help, either._ _

__“So… do you want me to go?” Kravitz asked._ _

__Taako stared blankly ahead for a long moment before he slowly nodded his head. “Yeah. This is your student, Krav. Don’t want you getting accused of preferential treatment or something like that.”_ _

__Kravitz hummed to himself, drumming against his knee with his free hand. “Let me know if you need me,” he finally said._ _

__“Got it,” Taako said, letting go of Kravitz’s hand and opening up the door again. Angus was already wrapped up in a blanket, a book opened up in his lap._ _

__“Well, I have to go, Mr. McDonald,” Kravitz said, enunciating his words like he was lecturing a class._ _

__“Oh, all right, Mr. Kravitz!” Angus chirped, “Thank you so much for picking me up!”_ _

__“Not a problem,” Kravitz replied. He hovered in the doorway for a long moment before he added, “Don’t feel like you need to go to school tomorrow. You’ve had a rough day.”_ _

__“I know,” Angus replied, “Thank you.”_ _

__Kravitz locked eyes with Taako before he closed the door, his footsteps fading out of Taako’s earshot before Taako asked, “Uh, have you eaten at all?”_ _

__“No,” Angus replied flatly, “I went to the hospital right after school.”_ _

__Taako sighed, facing his pantry. He opened it and confirmed that the only thing he could really cobble together to make a meal with minimal intervention was a bowl of cereal. He took the box out and opened up the fridge, realizing that the milk bottle was swollen, certainly spoiled. He faced Angus, who was already reading his book again before he opened the produce bin with his foot. Staring back at him was some cherry tomatoes and a bushel of basil, both from Lup stopping by after going to the farmer’s market a few days ago. He took them out, placing them on the counter and drummed his hands against it._ _

__He could make something with this._ _

__It wouldn’t even be anything revolutionary. He had boxes of pasta he could use and then mix everything together with some olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Season with pepper and salt to taste. But that required cooking._ _

__He brought his hands to the back of his head, taking a deep breath. He shut his eyes and tried to remember when he was Angus’s age. All he could think about was being curled up with Lup, watching their aunt’s favorite game shows while she shuffled over with a simple, but delicious homecooked meal. When he opened up his eyes again he stared at the ingredients and decided for one of the few times in his life, he was actively going to do the right thing._ _

__So he grabbed a box of spaghetti, muttering to himself about how much better it would be if he had a Fantasy Kitchenaid Standing Mixer with a pasta making attachment. He began to boil water and prepare a pan with oil, trying to pause whenever his hands were shaking too much. The last time he did something like this, there were consequences. But there was no reason to fear those consequences, especially when so many of the factors that led to that incident were no longer in his life._ _

__“What are you making?” Angus asked, still seated on the couch._ _

__Taako turned toward him and shrugged. “Some spaghetti with basil and tomato. Real simple stuff. But it’s aromatic, so people call it rustic instead of simple.”_ _

__“Oh,” Angus said, tilting his head. “That sounds really tasty!” He walked toward the counter, sitting on one of the stools. He had his book under his hands, but he chose to watch Taako as he began cutting up the basil._ _

__Taako smirked at Angus and he found himself more at ease. He didn’t host like he used to- the Taako of old would have showboated and bragged about how he could cook pasta so well, he could bed someone based on that skill alone. But the bubbling of water, the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board, the sizzling of a saute pan were all welcomed sounds._ _

__Taako got the tomatoes and basil sauteed, mixing them with the spaghetti once it was done. He set them in bowls, unable to resist wiping the bowls with a towel to remove any splatter before he served it to Angus. He hopped to the counter, taking a quick taste as Angus spun the bowl around, smiling._ _

__“Look, if you have any issues with any of this stuff, you should have said something sooner,” Taako grumbled._ _

__“Oh no, sir, I feel quite the opposite,” Angus said, “It looks perfect.”_ _

__“Then eat,” Taako demanded, then nervously checking his hands for the haunting signs of transmutation poisoning._ _

__Angus happily spun spaghetti noodles around his fork, slurping it up before he exclaimed, “Wow! You really are a great chef!”_ _

__Taako’s ears twitched. “A chef?” he asked. He narrowed his eyes at Angus. “That’s a pretty specific word choice. So tell me… what do you know about me?”_ _

__Angus sighed. “Sir,” he said, putting his fork down, “I’m the world’s greatest detective. Why wouldn’t I research my own teacher?”_ _

__“Because your teacher wants some privacy, maybe?” he asked._ _

__“It’s okay,” Angus said, picking up his fork again, “You didn’t do anything wrong. And the court confirmed it.”_ _

__Taako gripped at the counter, trying to resist screaming at a child._ _

__“I understand basic psychology, sir,” Angus explained, “Well, I wasn’t able to take the class, but I took the AP test and scored a 5.” Angus paused before looking up and flashing Taako a wide smile. “Today was a breakthrough! Wasn’t it?”_ _

__Taako rolled his eyes, shoving pasta in his mouth. “Yeah, well, whatever. Two can play this bullshit observation game. Why were you at my diner that first afternoon? I didn’t exactly take you as a kid who cut class.”_ _

__This seemed to rattle Angus enough. He quickly dropped his fork and said, “O-oh. That. You caught me, I guess.”_ _

__Taako leaned in, wishing he had the energy to give him a shit-eating grin._ _

__“I have an independent study period,” Angus explained, “It’s for a linear algebra class. I do the work in the school library, but a couple of kids I don’t get along with have a study hall there. So… I left…”_ _

__“Did anyone say anything?” Taako asked._ _

__Angus shook his head. “No. I had already been marked as present for attendance and I know there’s a door by the gym that’s always unlocked for deliveries.”_ _

__

__Taako shook his head. “You really are the world’s greatest detective,” he muttered._ _

__“I don’t really skip anymore,” Angus explained, “One of Mavis’s friends is in the study hall and it’s way more bearable now. Promise.” He popped a tomato into his mouth and added, “Anyway, I really like your cooking, sir. I hope you do it again.”_ _

__Taako pressed his lips together, unable to resist smiling at him. “Well, thanks. Maybe I will,” he said, “You want Magnus to drive you to school?”_ _

__“I’ll walk,” Angus replied, “I like this part of town.”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for checking in! I should hopefully have the rest posted soon.
> 
> If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them or contact me @Transaizawa on Tumblr and Twitter!


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